The Carolina Panthers announced on Tuesday that they notified a South Carolina city slated to be the home for the NFL team’s new $800 million headquarters that they would “formally terminate the previous agreements.” 

Construction in Rock Hill was put on hold last month after the city missed another payment toward the $225 million of promised infrastructure costs of the development.

The Panthers released a statement noting it was “unfortunate that some recently decided to conduct a misguided, destructive public relations campaign to obscure their failures.” Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said the city “did everything to make this project a success and has not defaulted on any of our obligations.”

Can It Be Salvaged?

Tuesday’s statements from the Panthers and Rock Hill also hinted at further negotiations. 

• The Panthers said they “are prepared to sit down with the city and other interested parties to discuss the significant challenges ahead.” 
• A Rock Hill spokesperson said that city officials “are encouraged the Panthers may now be willing to meet and look forward to resolving any and all outstanding issues.”
• Panthers owner David Tepper’s real estate holding company had already invested more than $170 million into the project. 

The sticking point remains Rock Hill’s reluctance to issue bonds that would cover the infrastructure costs. In the agreement provided to Front Office Sports, the city is required to use its “reasonable best efforts to issue bonds.”

The game, platform, and metaverse known as The Sandbox is considering raising roughly $400 million in fresh capital, which would value the platform at more than $4 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. 

Owned by software and venture firm Animoca Brands, The Sandbox is looking to raise the capital from new and existing investors with plans to use the funds to expand its workforce and make acquisitions. No details have been finalized, and the size of the round could depend on how the opportunity is received by potential investors.  

The desire to secure fresh capital follows The Sandbox raising $93 million in a Series B funding round last November. It was led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 — its first investment in crypto assets — and included Liberty City Ventures, Samsung Next, and other investors. 

• The Sandbox has 2.2 million registered users as of April 4.
• Since January, the platform has partnered with Ubisoft and Warner Music Group. 

Animoca Brands acquired mobile game studio Pixowl, the developer of “The Sandbox” game in 2018 for $4.9 million. In January, Animoca Brands raised $360 million, valuing the firm at $5.4 billion. To date, the Hong Kong-based company has raised roughly $700 million in total capital. 

Banking on the Metaverse 

In March, investment bank and financial services company HSBC announced it is acquiring a plot of land in The Sandbox metaverse as a way to connect with sports and gaming enthusiasts.

In February, another banking giant — JPMorgan Chase & Co. — opened a virtual lounge in Decentraland, a browser-based virtual 3D world platform.

The Denver Broncos have received five non-binding bids to purchase the team, including bids from two who are already facing off in another high-profile team sale.

The bidders include Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks co-owner Todd Boehly and Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Crystal Palace co-owner Josh Harris, according to Sportico. Boehly and Harris are part of two of the three finalist groups to buy Chelsea FC. 

However, neither can match the financial heft of the other known bidder, Rob Walton, who is worth $70.4 billion, per Forbes.

• The other two bidders are currently unknown. 
• Entertainment Studios founder, chair, and CEO Byron Allen was interested in buying the team, per reports from February.
• The NFL was reportedly courting Vista Equity Partners chair Robert F. Smith earlier in the process. Smith or Allen would be the NFL’s first Black owner, should either purchase the team.

The sale is being managed by Allen & Co., which hopes to have the team in new hands by the start of the next season. The final price is expected to top $4 billion.

How Now, Broncos DAO?

A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called BuyTheBroncos is raising money to purchase a stake in the team using a cooperative model. 

On Tuesday, BuyTheBroncos announced its technology partner, XDAO, which “acts as both the platform to attract approximately $4 billion needed to purchase the team, and as a marketing mechanism, having attracted over $300 million in assets under management since its launch in November.”