When Bank of America Stadium opened in 1996, the Carolina Panthers didn't imagine that fans would pay hundreds of dollars for a seat behind the player's bench, with a blocked view of the field.
But today, teams are building stadiums with field-level suites, where fans' feet touch the grass or artificial turf, close to the sounds, smells and (sometimes) sites of the NFL.
Teams in Atlanta, Minnesota, Dallas and New York have built $1 billion stadiums that include field-level suites, one way for them to squeeze more money from fans.
League insiders, and local business leaders, believe that new Panthers owner David Tepper will compare Bank of America Stadium with the NFL's newest stadiums, and decide whether more renovations — or a new stadium — are needed.