Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 27, 1993 TAG: 9310270258
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff and wire reports
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The National Football League is coming to Charlotte.
Fireworks exploded as the hundreds of people who had gathered for a celebration downtown rejoiced Tuesday night when NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced the addition of the Carolina Panthers during the league's expansion meeting in Rosemont, Ill.
Many North Carolina television stations carried the announcement live.
"This is a dream come true for me and my partners," said Jerry Richardson, an ex-Baltimore Colts wide receiver turned Spartanburg, S.C., businessman who led the Charlotte bid. "And especially a dream come true for 10 million people back in the Carolinas that have gone to bat for us and been with us every step of the way. And I'm very grateful for that."
People danced, hugged and kissed in the NationsBank Corporate Center. Jim Gilkey flashed his personalized license plate for all to see: It read "CPanthers."
"I've been here for eight years and it's taken more than six to get this team," he said. "They did everything right. They were a class act. They handled every obstacle and did it in stride."
Jerry Ledwell bragged that he has tickets on the 50-yard line.
"It's fantastic. That's the only word I can use," he said. "Now we have to get ready to win our first game," which will be played in 1995.
Added his wife, Elizabeth, "I canceled my hair appointment for this."
Hugh McColl, the NationsBank chairman who helped Richardson, shed tears. "It's something we've been working on for so long. . . . The community involvement was incredible."
What comes next is the leveling of a vacant lot in Charlotte, where a 72,300-seat stadium with 100 luxury suites and 102 club-level suites will be built.
"This doesn't solve all our problems," Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot said. "It doesn't solve the crime problem or the schools problems or the problems of homeless people in the streets. But it does send a message to the world that we are a city that matters."
Another club is still to join the league, and Tagliabue said that decision will come Nov. 30. The four cities in the running are St. Louis; Baltimore; Memphis, Tenn.; and Jacksonville, Fla.
Tagliabue said the fans of North and South Carolina made a difference. "We know the caliber of fans there," he said.
by CNB