FanFest at Clemson

Hey First...

I was wondering if someone would bring this up.... Glad you did.  Initially, when I first read about this, I thought, "That's CRAZY." "Moving FanFest away from the confines of Panther Stadium will alienate Charlotteans and fans in general."  "It moves the one (and only) real fan "experience" further away from the fans."  And I still think that will be the case, at least to some extent.  I think there will be a notable drop in fan participation at the event because a lot of fans will choose NOT to travel down to Clemson. --- I know I will not. Maybe it won't make much difference, with the fans down there picking up the slack. I don't know.....

But now, after thinking about it, I believe that I understand the reasoning. It's about the "optics" of the situation. The Carolina Panthers have always been sold as a team for "The Carolinas". With the new field house and practice facilities being built near the stadium; the Panthers team moving Training Camp to Charlotte; and the failure of the expansion at Rock Hill; The Panthers have been slowly drifting away from their roots and  further from the southern half of the "Carolina(s)" duality. i think this move is a bit of pandering (possibly) to the fans in SOUTH Carolina who support our team.

I don't know if it's a good idea or a bad idea. I don't know if it makes sense, or not. And I don't know if it MIGHT just be an attempt to put a little "pressure" on the City of Charlotte to approve the stadium renovation.  But I think the optics of the situation required at least a "nod" of some sort to SOUTH Carolina to support their inclusion.

Agreed.  I thought it was more related to trying to smooth over the failed Rock Hill deal.