CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The new owner of the Carolina Panthers says it’s a new day.

David Tepper held a news conference Tuesday morning.

He officially took over the team from former owner Jerry Richardson Monday.

Tepper said the issues in the past are done -- and it's time for change in the Panthers organization.

"Whatever was, was. This is now. This is going to be an open place so there's not going to be non-disclosure agreements, no matter what in this new place. This is going to be an open place where people are going to have the right people to talk to. And if I do something stupid, they're going be talking about me. That’s what this place is going to be,” said Tepper. 

Tepper touched on a number of other topics, including whether or not  the statue of Jerry Richardson at Bank of America Stadium will remain. He said he is "contractually obligated to leave the statue where it is."

He said that the team is "in need" of a new practice field and can't "talk new practice field until you talk new stadium," noting that the most logical place for the stadium is Charlotte. 

He also spoke about opening the stadium up to more events. “I think high school championships should be played in that stadium.  I don’t want to screw up the field but bigger events  – the right kind of concerts in that stadium. I want to utilize the stadium a lot more for the community.”

In response to a question about Donald Trump and potential NFL player protests, he said, “I'm a big believer in social justice, and I'm actually a big believer in the country and patriotic."