Big LED Opportunity: Charlotte’s NFL Stadium Seeking OK, Tax Funds Support, For Massive Facelift

June 4, 2024 by Dave Haynes

There will be a huge uptick in the amount of large format LED display tech in place if the company that owns and runs the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NV gets the OK for an $800 million renovation that hangs on city council approval.

A formal vote by city council comes up June 24, with the NFL and MLS teams saying the 30-year-old stadium needs modernization to boost the game day experience. If the deal gets approved, renovation work would start next year and be done by 2029.

The concept images show a LOT of big LED in the seating bowls, fan concourses and along the facade of the stadium, which sits just on the edge of the city’s central business district.

The deal also comes with the provision that this would keep the two pro teams in the city for at least 20 years. This would be foreign to European readers, but US and Canadian professional sports teams have been known to switch cities if they don’t get government support on funding and building new facilities – 0ne of the reasons Las Vegas now has an NFL team most associated with Oakland, California and why Vegas will also, eventually, have a Major League Baseball team, also relocated from Oakland.

In this case, the stadium reno’s backers are arguing the upgrades would not be funded by new or increased taxes. “It will be funded by existing hospitality and tourism tax resources, which are legally required by the state to be spent on projects to support the city’s tourism economy. The restricted funds cannot be used for other city functions like transit, education, affordable housing or public safety.”

The owners, Tepper Sports and Entertainment, would put in another $650 million. Tepper is owned by a hedge fund billionaire.

Given the money is not in place, I assume the LED display technology is not yet locked in, and companies like Daktronics – which supplies many NFL stadiums – are watching this closely. The stadium either had or still has a big Dak replay board, tracing back 10 years.