The same week, NFL owners approved the Panthers' new 20-year lease at the stadium. A non-relocation agreement ensures the team will stay in Charlotte for the next two decades.

Set to begin in 2026, this estimated five-year construction project aims to extend the life of the 75,000-seat multipurpose facility that originally opened in 1996 and was modified for soccer matches in 2021. Bethesda, Md.-based Clark Construction and D.A. Everett Construction Group of Raleigh, N.C., are collaborating on this project.

Planned improvements include the installation of new upper and lower bowl seats, modernization of building infrastructure systems, new scoreboards, video signage, and a state-of-the-art sound system. Additionally, the project will enhance accessibility for people with disabilities and improve the stadium’s exterior, safety, and security systems, including illuminated wayfinding and lighting.

As part of the stadium renovations, local contractors Rodgers Builders and R.J. Leeper Construction are building a new indoor training center, located on the team’s adjacent practice fields. HOK, the stadium’s original architect, will design the renovation, with CAA Icon serving as the owner’s representative. TES says it will actively collaborate with the design and construction teams on phasing construction in order to keep the stadium operational and minimize disruptions to game-day activities. TSE also has pledged to align its efforts to involve minority-owned and small business enterprises with the Charlotte Business INClusion program for city contracts.

TSE also has plans to fully fund and construct an 89,000-sq-ft indoor music and events center on a two-acre site next to the stadium. The contractor for the 4,400-seat venue has not yet been announced, but construction is scheduled to commence in 2027. Once completed in 2030, the music center is anticipated to host up to 100 events each year.

Yet even as new entertainment projects are emerging beside the stadium, Tepper’s broader track record in the region has been much more complicated. He has had a contentious relationship with the Charlotte area since buying the Carolina Panthers in 2018. That tension grew when he abandoned plans for an $800 million headquarters and practice facility in Rock Hill, S.C., even though construction was already underway. The project’s collapse fueled speculation about whether the team might eventually relocate.

Additionally, a bankruptcy filing in 2022 by Tepper's real estate arm resulted in multiple lawsuits and claims involving the City of Rock Hill, York County, and the project’s contractors, which included the construction management joint venture of Mascaro Construction and Barton Mallow. A subsequent $100-million settlement allocated $60 million to be split among the contractors, while Rock Hill received the 245-acre parcel and partially complete building to the city, and York County received $21 million in compensation for road improvements. The last lawsuit associated with the project, York County’s claim that Rock Hill broke its promise to issue at least $135 million in project-related bonds, ended earlier this year when a county judge ordered the case closed.

That same year, Tepper Sports & Entertainment also withdrew from a plan to build a Charlotte FC youth academy at the Eastland Mall redevelopment site. While the soccer academy was scrapped, the broader public‑private redevelopment has continued, with city officials advancing plans for a sports complex and indoor recreation facility on the site.