The Carolina Panthers closed out the team’s 25th year of summer training camp at Wofford College on Aug. 14 after drawing more than 66,000 spectators to watch as the NFL team prepared for the 2019 season.
More than 900,000 fans have come to Wofford’s campus throughout the years that the team has held summer training camp here, and that has meant millions of dollars in economic impact on the Spartanburg and Upstate communities with out-of-town fans staying overnight in hotels, eating in local restaurants, shopping in retail establishments and visiting tourist attractions and other venues. Training camp also has supported hundreds of jobs each summer, according to research released by the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Over the past five years, not including this year, the camp has been worth more than $54.7 million in total economic impact, according to metrics from a Clemson University Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management report published last year, with the figure climbing above $13 million annually in both 2016 and 2017, and above $15.16 million last year.
“Training camp this year was a tremendous success,” President Nayef Samhat says. “Once again, we had thousands of visitors who were here to watch their favorite team and favorite players, but also to see our beautiful campus and experience what Wofford and Spartanburg have to offer. The year-to-year attendance at camp is a testament to the popularity of this family-friendly activity and to the love and support of the Panthers. Training camp consistently has been a hallmark event not only for the Spartanburg community and the Upstate, but for the entire state of South Carolina.”
By Laura H. Corbin