The Panthers announced a plan to Bank of America Stadium renovation on Monday and according to one of the team’s veteran receivers, that’s a very good thing.
Adam Thielen noted that Carolina’s practice facility — which remains at the stadium after plans for a separate facility in Rock Hill, South Carolina, was scrapped — needs to be updated.
“I think they’re a little late As far as facilities“, Thielen told Alex Zitlow about Charlotte Observer. “We probably have the worst facilities in the NFL right now, and I don’t think there’s anyone who can argue with that. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to go play football, and you’ve got to go win games.”
“So it’s good to hear that, the commitment to us as players and coaching staff, ‘Hey, you guys are doing the work, and we’re going to commit and provide you with better facilities and really give you the resources.’ To go out there and win. So it’s exciting.”
In the most recent NFLPA report card, the Panthers earned a C+ in their locker room, a C+ in their practice room, a B in their weight room, and owner David Tepper earned a D grade.
The Panthers have already begun the process of making upgrades, and construction on a new field house is scheduled to begin after training camp this summer. But to do so, Carolina had to remove its old indoor training bubble as the club currently does not have an indoor facility.
Thielen noted that it is “a little difficult,” saying that the team is “kind of making do with what we have like the locker room, meeting rooms, things like that.”
“I think they had plans in Rock Hill to build that facility, and then when that kind of fell through, they had to redo the game plan and figure it out,” Thielen said. “So again, it’s exciting to hear that they’re going to invest in the players, the organization and the staff. And I think everyone is excited to see this follow through and to make these resources the best we can be.”