Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA
Led by Scott Radecic and Jonathan Mallie and their design team at Populous, at 622,654 square feet, the new Charlotte Panthers training facility will be the largest training complex in the NFL, outpacing the Dallas Cowboys’ Ford Center at the Star (510,000 square feet), the Las Vegas Raiders training facility in Henderson (323,000 square feet) and the Minnesota Vikings’ TCO Performance Center (277,000 square feet).
For this project, the Carolina Panthers, York County and the city of Rock Hill, S.C. have joined in a community partnership to transition the team’s headquarters to Rock Hill.
The new site will not only include a world-class sports complex, but also be a true destination site for the entire region, offering entertainment, dining, retail, athletics and medical care.
The Carolina Panthers Rock Hill Development is an innovative mixed-use, pedestrian friendly community anchored by the practice facility, headquarters offices, and sports/entertainment venue with emphasis on retail/entertainment/media productions, hospitality, employment, research and development, residential dwellings, indoor and outdoor recreation, and open space uses.
Constructed on a 200+ acre site adjacent to I-77, the Panthers organization is investing to develop and build the facility and development infrastructure, which will initially include: new headquarters offices; an indoor practice facility; outdoor practice fields; scalable small stadium to host high school sports, concerts, festivals, etc.; an indoor facility to host games, concerts and corporate events; and a premier orthopedic sports medicine facility.
Inspired by the quarries of South Carolina and the city of Rock Hill, Populous introduced its design with the following fundamental principles: To think football and beyond; To be smart and state-of-the-art; and To be authentically Panthers.
As guests arrive at the training facility, the entrance greets everyone with a moment of significant impact – a series of canted glass walls, articulated metal panels and LED displays are choreographed to captivate visitors upon entry, culminating at one of the building’s peaked rooflines which rises toward the southeast.
The west lobby serves as the team entry and opens up to a one-of-a-kind commons area that serves as a social gathering space for café style dining, impromptu meetings, and multi-purpose events – each offering the ability to enjoy expansive views of the surrounding landscape.
Once arriving to the athlete facilities, the team locker room and training and recovery programs organize themselves around the primary length of the building and open themselves up to natural light and the outdoor practice fields to the south.
Elevated office environments, lounges, and a café provide open views to the south and a direct relationship to the pavilion to the north which houses the facility’s indoor playing field.
Beyond the pavilion to the north lies an outdoor playing field, spectator seating, and bermed viewing areas, which will serve as a unique outdoor canvas for live events.
For increased capacities and integration of indoor and outdoor space, the pavilion’s two 90-foot wide by 80- foot tall operable glazed doors will open to transform the complex into a spectacular event space for concerts and live events.
The headquarters will also mean significant infrastructure improvements for the region, including more than 13,000 feet of new public streets.
The project’s first phase is planned for opening in 2023.
Project: Carolina Panthers Rock Hill Development
Architects: Populous, Inc.
Design Team: Scott Radeci, Jonathan Mallie, Kelly Kerns, Ayesha Husain, Jordan Kelly, Kevin Fast, Nicole Williams, Myron Chase, Wesley Crosby, Ashley Culler, Jay Garber, Niluja Singh, Chris Jensen, Renae Vos, Tyler Robertson, Ramon Pena, Kyleen Miller, Daniel Lu, Surgene Troost, Sara Pizarro Subtil, Insu Kim, Duart Duff, Garrett Szarenski, James Mulligan, Sarah Faflick, Aaron Noll, Josh Vogel, Justin Cox, Frank Steiner, Jonathan Mugmon, and Craig Meyer
Client: Tepper Sports & Entertainment
