Capers was formerly the defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Panthers hired Dom Capers as their inaugural head coach. The Panthers would be assigned to the NFC West to increase the size of that division to five teams there were already two other southeastern teams in the division, the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints, making Charlotte the easternmost city in the division. Memphis also temporarily received a team when the Houston Oilers relocated in 1996 to Tennessee, intending to play the 19 seasons in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium while what is now called Nissan Stadium in Nashville was being constructed. Louis in 1995 (however, the Rams would return to Los Angeles in 2016), and as the result of the 1996 Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, the Baltimore Ravens were established by the league as technically a new expansion team. Louis and Baltimore lost out on their expansion bids, they eventually acquired new teams: the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. In a memorable moment during the expansion announcement conference, Richardson spoke directly into a camera feed going to the Carolinas to thank the 40,000 people who had purchased the PSLs and allowing the stadium to be built without a burden to the taxpayers. Fans all over the region celebrated with fireworks. On October 26, 1993, the league announced that the owners had unanimously voted for the Carolinas to receive the 29th franchise, the first new NFL team since 1976 (Jacksonville was named the 30th team a month later). The feasibility of the team was no longer a question, but it was still up to the league to decide where the new team would go. In a stunning show of fan support, all seats were sold out by the end of the first day. In June of that year, Richardson Sports announced that they would finance the stadium through the sale of Permanent Seat Licenses, club seats, and luxury boxes. After the vote was delayed because of a dispute between the players and the league, the race began again in 1993. Louis, Missouri Memphis, Tennessee Jacksonville, Florida and the Carolinas, represented by Charlotte. In 1992, the NFL released their list of five areas open to a potential NFL team: Baltimore, Maryland St. The matchups were between existing NFL teams and all three games were sold out as part of the fans' efforts to show their support. The first two were held at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, respectively, while the third game was held at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. Preseason games were held in the region in 1989, 1990, and 1991. created a committee of citizens from both states to help the cause. Martin and then-South Carolina Governor Carroll A. Meanwhile, then-North Carolina Governor James G. ![]() United States Senators Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Ernest Hollings of South Carolina put aside their partisan differences to lobby NFL owners to support the expansion. ![]() Richardson's announcement created a buzz in the region, as politicians, businessmen, and citizens all joined to show the NFL that a team could be supported in the area. Richardson Sports, a company made by Richardson, decided upon a spot in the uptown section of Charlotte to build a privately financed stadium seating more than 70,000 fans. In 1987, shortly after it was decided that Charlotte would receive an expansion National Basketball Association franchise (the Hornets), former Baltimore Colts wide receiver, North Carolina native and businessman Jerry Richardson met with a group of potential backers to discuss the possibility of bringing an NFL expansion team to the Carolinas region.
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