A dispute between Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and the City of Rock Hill and York County over the failed construction of an $800 million team facility could lead to the NFL owner forking over $82 million to pay back creditors.
The dispute between the Carolina Panthers’ head and the County stems from plans this year to construct a new practice facility and team headquarters in the city of Rock Hill. The project — which had already started — was in need of several hundred million dollars more to reach completion. And the city reportedly agreed to give $225 million in bonds for the 240-acre development.
Unfortunately, Rock Hill could not deliver on the bonds, and Tepper brought a halt to construction earlier this year. The team owner claimed at the time that more than $170 million has already been put into the project. However, despite the city and county devising a new plan to fulfill their part of the bargain, Tepper did not restart construction, and his decision led to State Senator Wes Climer calling Tepper another “Daniel Snyder.”
Carolina Panthers David Tepper set to fork over $82 million in creditor debt
Well, it seems Tepper’s strong stance has backfired and he will have to pay up to close some major financial claims against his real estate company. In a Deleware bankruptcy court filing obtained by the Associated Press, GT Real Estate Holdings — a company owned by Tepper — revealed they had proposed a plan to resolve the claims against them from Rock Hill and York County.
“This plan reflects GTRE’s promise to expeditiously resolve all claims and make payments to its creditors, including to York County and the City of Rock Hill. GTRE now has a clear path to emerge from bankruptcy made possible by substantial commitments from DT Sports Holding, which has made available to GTRE more than $82 million in cash in an effort to bring this process to an orderly and equitable conclusion. GTRE believes that the plan is in the best interests of its creditors and anticipates that a hearing to consider approval of the plan will occur in October of this year.”
GTRE statement on paying off debt claims
DT Sports Holding is another company owned by the Carolina Panthers’ boss. Courts and creditors must now approve the proposal before it can be finalized.
In most cases, powerful billionaires like Tepper hardly ever lose in situations like this. However, in this case, you can score a victory for the little guys.
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