Could Charlotte be on track to land the Super Bowl? - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina

With all the construction underway at Bank of America Stadium, we had to ask the question to decision makers inside Panthers organization if Charlotte would be in the running for pro football's biggest game.

A well-placed source with the team told WBTV, "When the construction is finished our stadium will be Super Bowl ready."

However, we've learned that the stadium is one part of the equation of attracting the masses.

Michael Smith is the President of Center City Partners.

"It's exciting." he said. "We've got seven different hotels that have announced 700 new rooms." 

According to Smith, a thousand more rooms will also be renovated by lodging establishments in the uptown area during the coming months.

That's one of the questions filling the local sports talk airwaves, as time winds down to this weekend's Super bowl.

Former Panther Frank Garcia is the midday host at 610 The Fan.

"If you're gonna have it in these other venues and spread it around the NFL, I think Charlotte would be a great city to have it in," Garcia said.

Fans we found at the team store agree.

One fan told WBTV, "If the Super Bowl were here, It would be a great benefit to our city Just like the DNC coming, it could be one of those events that could land here and help out."

Michael Smith isn't totally sold yet.

"This helps going from four thousand rooms to 55 hundred. We still have some work to do to make sure we have the inventory to host the really big events," Smith said.

Any official would bid have to come from the city and CRVA, and the final decision would be made by NFL team owners.

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