CHARLOTTE — The city framed the setting, almost as if there to help tell the story. Tepper Sports & Entertainment Owner and Chairman David Tepper, Bank of America CEO and Chair Brian Moynihan, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sat on stage in front of a transparent tent wall, the late summer deluge outside doing nothing to dampen the mood inside as the group discussed the future of Bank of America Stadium - home of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC - and its impact on Charlotte and the Carolinas.

"This city has grown up with the Panthers," Goodell offered insightfully, "and the Panthers have grown up with them."

Both will grow exponentially in the coming years, thanks to the stadium renovations announced on Thursday, along with the extension of the naming rights with long-term partner Bank of America. The renovations are on track to be completed by 2030. Every inch of the stadium will be touched by the renovation, benefiting every fan.

"I don't think we're building stadiums. I think we're building experiences and bringing people together," preached Goodell. "This is a great experience. This stadium is evolving with this community. They're fortifying each other here.

"And obviously when you get an NFL franchise, it puts the city on a pretty big platform. I mean, 20 million people are watching every weekend. They hear about the city, and they're identifying the city. But they're also getting a chance to see the wonderful things that you all are creating together, and it doesn't happen without — ultimately that's where Leadership, where everybody wants to go."

The Carolina Panthers and Bank of America Stadium, from inception, have always been woven into the fabric of Uptown Charlotte, and, Tepper added, he only sees that impact expanding, especially with the addition of a new 4,400-capacity entertainment venue that will host 80-100 shows a year.

"If you want to say, you build it, and then they come. If we have 100 shows down there, you hope that eventually more restaurants will get built there, more clubs will get there," dreamed Tepper. "You have the potential to grow that part of the city and to make it a more vibrant sort of place.

"The extra vibrancy that this project provides - and when you have football, it goes on from there. That's what this sport can bring and the stadium can bring to the city."

The Queen City, to Goodell's original point, is the fastest-growing metropolitan in the country, according to a recent report by the Census Bureau. When the Panthers were first introduced to the Carolinas in 1993, the city was home to less than 500,000 people (~400,000). Now, Charlotte is quickly closing in on one million residents.

With the growth has come new businesses, opportunity, entertainment value, and national notoriety. And as home to an NFL club that has made noise in recent years, Goodell sees Charlotte as the kind of city ripe to partner with the year-round league.

"I think what really makes this special more than anything else is that this is right in the heart of the city," noted Goodell. "When you're right in the heart of the city, you can make a lot of things happen. People want to come together, and sports brings people together. We just saw that with the World Cup. We've seen it in New York with the Knicks. It's what I think sports does more than anything else."

Now, with the future for the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC, and Tepper Sports & Entertainment, that community will continue to grow in Charlotte, the Carolinas, and beyond.