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Roger Goodell says Charlotte, Panthers stadium ‘built for a draft.’ Here’s why

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The Carolina Panthers have Super Bowl aspirations, both playing in and hosting one. Playing in one may be the more realistic, immediate outcome, if Roger Goodell’s recent comments are any indication.

Speaking at an event unveiling a $1.3 billion renovation of Bank of America Stadium, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said there’s a world in which the Panthers – specifically Uptown Charlotte – will be able to host the NFL draft before a Super Bowl.

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Goodell doubled down, saying that the city center is “built” to host the fast-growing event.

“You see the way the downtown is evolving, the first thing that came into my mind, I said to (Panthers owner) David (Tepper), ‘This is built for a draft,'” Goodell said during the event Thursday. “The draft now has close to 1 million people attending. And they’re coming from all over, including internationally. It’s become a global event that I think would be a terrific thing here in this town with all that’s being built.”

However, with renovations scheduled to be completed by 2030, and the next two drafts set to be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Charlotte may have to wait a bit to host a premier NFL event, whether that’s the draft or the Super Bowl.

Goodell did add that a Super Bowl hosted in Charlotte is “somewhere down the line,” as long as the city continues to grow.

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Certain obstacles, such as a lack of hotel rooms and facilities in the area big enough to house Super Bowl-week events, still stand in the way, Goodell says.

The Panthers entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1995, and have played in the open-air Bank of America Stadium (formerly Ericsson Stadium) since 1996.

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Above, Former Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson speaks during Round Two of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 24, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Emilee Chinn, Getty Images)

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Starting in 2015, the NFL took the show on the road and began hosting the draft in other cities, moving away from New York City, which had hosted the draft since 1965.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roger Goodell says Charlotte, Panthers stadium ‘built for a draft.’ Here’s why

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