"Panther Shakedown" 12"x16" oil on primed paper
When the profitable Charlotte Panthers football team wanted renovations to Panther Stadium in uptown Charlotte, they required the city to pay for it, even though they had made millions in profits last year. Unless the city wanted to loose an NFL team, they have to cough up the change, recently negotiated down to just over half the original amount only after NC state government in Raleigh refused to allow the city to raise the taxes, forcing the municipality to raid it's convention center funds to renovate the stadium. Ultimately, it feels like a shake down of the residents of Charlotte as many professional teams demand more from their host cities.
