Carolina Panthers: What would a new stadium look like?
By Shane Norris
What would a new Panthers’ stadium look like?
In the past decade, six new arenas have or will soon open across the NFL. The four that are currently open have all hosted a Super Bowl since cutting the ribbon. SoFi stadium, in Inglewood, California, has secured a future game for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2022. State-of-the-art venues are the required future for NFL teams.
However, many of the nicer stadiums in the league aren’t set in the middle of a downtown setting where space can be tight. But there are some that could provide a blueprint for the Carolina Panthers to work from in addition to their ambitious plans for a new headquarters and training facility in the coming years.
US Bank Stadium
The Vikings new stadium opened in 2016 and hosted more than 600 events in its first year of operation. According to Google Map’s measurement feature, the stadium sits on about 33 acres of space west of the Mississippi River.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
The new home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC could set a perfect model for the Panthers, who will also be sharing their home with a new MLS team. Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in 2017, replacing the Georgia Dome. The stadium, plus plaza space, sits on about 32 acres of land in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
Allegiant Stadium
Las Vegas’ first NFL stadium will host the Raiders and the UNLV Rebels college team. The massive project sits on about 62 acres of land west of Mandalay Bay, a space larger than that of the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry site. However, it will include several other amenities and a roll-in grass field, similar to State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
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While many of these stadiums sit on fairly squared plots of land. The 55 acres in Uptown Charlotte are situated in a unique stretch between the John Belk Freeway and a rail line.
There’s still more than enough space to fit a state-of-the-art arena, but it will require a distinct design to fill the footprint if David Tepper decides to move forward with a land purchase.