A Dream for Jerry Richardson
In July 16, 1987 current Carolina Panthers Owner/Founder Jerry Richardson met in Charlotte, North Carolina with a group of interested parties to discuss the feasibility of entering the multi-city competition for two National Football League (NFL) expansion franchises. On December 15, Richardson officially announced an NFL franchise bid for the Carolinas. One of the first orders of business was to choose a stadium site. Locations in both North and South Carolina were considered. On December 15, 1989, Richardson Sports selected a site in uptown Charlotte as the future home of a privately financed NFL stadium that would seat more than 70,000 fans.http://www.panthers.com/team/history.html
At the league owners meeting on March 18, 1992, the NFL reduced the list of expansion candidate cities from eleven to seven with the Carolinas making the cut. Two months later, the NFL narrowed the list of expansion hopefuls to five communities – Baltimore, St. Louis, Memphis, Jacksonville and the Carolinas. On October 20, 1992, the NFL owners ended up delaying the expansion vote until the Fall of 1993 because of a labor dispute between the league and the players. The league and the players didn't approved a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) until three months later on January 6, 1993. On March 23, 1993, the expansion race officially resumed. On June 3, Richardson Sports revealed its impressive plan to privately finance a 72,300-seat stadium from the sale of Permanent Seat Licenses (PSL), club seats and luxury boxes, beginning on July 1. A remarkable 15,000 pieces of mail from first-day orders were collected. By the end of the first day, all 8,314 club seats sold out and all 104 luxury suites were reserved and ultimately leased. First-day PSL orders totaled 41,632. http://www.panthers.com/team/history.html
On October 26, 1993, NFL owners unanimously selected Carolina as the 29th NFL franchise and the first expansion team since 1976. Fireworks exploded over uptown Charlotte as jubilant fans gathered to celebrate the news. Jerry Richardson became just the second former player to own an NFL team along with George Halas of the Chicago Bears. http://www.panthers.com/team/history.html
On April 22, 1994, construction began on the future home of the Panthers, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. http://www.panthers.com/team/history/chronology.html
On July 29, 1995, the Panthers played and won their first game. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game, becoming the first team in NFL history to win their first all-time game. While construction of their stadium was still underway, the team played their 1995 home games at Memorial Stadium on the campus of Clemson University. The team finished with seven wins and nine losses.
1996 and Beyond
After moving to their brand new stadium, the Panthers finished the 1996 season as NFC West champions. They entered the playoffs for the first time, making it to the NFC Championship Game where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
In 2003 the Panthers returned to the playoffs, making it all the way to the Super Bowl. The team played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32-29.
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References
Fast Facts
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Inaugural Season
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Home Stadium Since 1996
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Owner
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Retired Uniform Number
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Super Bowl Appearance
XXXVIII in 2003
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Radio Stations Airing Panthers Games
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