PNC Arena upgrades have been years in the making. Here’s how we got here
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PNC Arena & West Raleigh Development Plans
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has a vision for both inside and outside PNC Arena that could entice fans to come early for games and stay after they’re over. Here is The News & Observer’s coverage of arena renovations and development plans for west Raleigh.
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Since PNC Arena opened in 1999, there’s been a vision for something more — a district filled with hotels, retail and restaurants.
The venue on Edwards Mill Road — across the street from Carter-Finley Stadium — serves as the home for the Carolina Hurricanes and the N.C. State men’s basketball team along with dozens of big-name concerts and events every year.
But the arena is in need of major renovations and upgrades, which the Centennial Authority has been seeking since at least 2014, The News & Observer reported. And Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has ideas for developing 80 acres of property surrounding the venue to make west Raleigh a destination beyond whatever team or entertainment act is on the arena’s marquee.
There have been hiccups along the way, as several parties are involved, including the Centennial Authority, N.C. State University, the Carolina Hurricanes, the city and Wake County. And then the pandemic stalled plans and discussions.
Those long-gestating plans may be moving forward. The Centennial Authority is scheduled to meet Tuesday to hear from a consultant about arena lease negotiations and to vote on two “term sheets,” The N&O reported Aug. 10. Officials say the upgrades could cost over $250 million.
Here’s a closer look at how these plans have come together.
July 22, 1997
A groundbreaking ceremony is held to begin construction on what was first known as the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, according to the venue’s website. The Centennial Authority is the building’s owner while the Carolina Hurricanes and Gale Force Sports & Entertainment run operations.
Then-Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos is given the rights to develop nearby land as part of his original lease when he moved the Hartford Whalers to North Carolina but he does not choose to proceed.
October 1999
The arena, with an estimated cost of $158 million, opens as the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes NHL team begins playing at the arena after two years of games in Greensboro. The venue also becomes the new, much bigger home for the N.C. State’s men’s basketball team, which had played for 50 years in Reynolds Coliseum on the NCSU campus.
The arena is approximately 700,000 square feet with four different seating levels.
2006
The Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1, in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in Raleigh to bring the first, and still only, major-league professional sports championship to North Carolina.
2011
PNC assumes the naming rights deal for the arena when it buys RBC Centura Bank. The original 20-year deal is worth $4 million per year. The venue was named the RBC Center from 2002 to 2012. The PNC Arena name takes effect in March 2012.
2014-2015
The Authority begins exploring renovating the arena. Planning begins in 2015 with projected costs at about $115 million to $120 million
2018
Original owner Peter Karmanos sells the team in January to Tom Dundon, a Dallas billionaire who made his money in subprime auto loans. He bought 52% of the Hurricanes and the arena for $425 million, The Associated Press reports. He becomes the full owner in 2021.
A study commissioned for the Centennial Authority estimates the arena would have an economic impact of $4 billion in its first 20 years.
March 2019
The Centennial Authority receives a presentation with architectural renderings of an enhanced and renovated PNC Arena. The estimated costs are at least $167.4 million to $201.8 million. The Canes’ arena lease is set to expire in 2024. If approved, the arena construction would begin in 2020.
May 2020
The authority votes to accept a term sheet with the Hurricanes on a five-year lease extension through July 1, 2029.
Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell notes there were ongoing talks about renovating the arena and developing the property around the arena, saying the extension “gives us an avenue to pursue that.”
A requirement in completing that term-sheet agreement is that the authority gain approval from the City of Raleigh and Wake County that $9 million a year through 2029 be provided through the Tri-Party Agreement, in which money annually is appropriated from the hotel and prepared food and beverage tax revenue.
The latest Tri-Party amendment is approved in October 2020. The lease extension was finalized in July 2021.
May 2022
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman visits Raleigh on the eve of the NHL playoffs to meet with the Centennial Authority and emphasize the NHL’s interest in upgrading both the inside of the arena and the area outside it.
- The visit spurs action on the part of the Centennial Authority to start finalizing its renovation proposal, negotiating a long-term lease with Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon and — on the recommendation of the consultant it hired to oversee the process — opening the way for Dundon to begin developing the land around the arena into a mixed-use entertainment district.
- The authority asks HOK and Ratio to update the arena enhancement plan prepared in 2019 for current arena trends and construction costs and prepare a menu of possible upgrades at various cost levels for the city and county to approve at some point next year. CAA Icon is asked to develop a master plan for development inside and outside the arena.
2023
Commercial growth has been slow around the arena. The biggest development has been Wade Park with its mix of office buildings, housing and a few eateries.
Both the lease and the development have been contingent upon the Centennial Authority’s plans to renovate PNC Arena with funds from the Raleigh-Wake County hotel and restaurant tax.
February 2023
The Carolina Hurricanes host the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium for the Stadium Series — the first outdoor game that the Canes have played in.
July 14, 2023
The plans to significantly renovate and enhance PNC Arena takes a step forward. Members of the Centennial Authority receive a proposal prioritization report for the extensive project.
- The report centers on a “menu” of proposals for the 23-year-old arena and emphasizes the need for a consensus on the individual project concepts by the major stakeholders — the authority, Carolina Hurricanes (Gale Force Sports & Entertainment), N.C. State and the “political partners.”
- Proposed upgrades by Ratio/HOK include an expanded entry lobby at the south end — a “grand entrance” — with space for a 4,000-square-foot sportsbook; and a rooftop bar with a “view terrace” on the upper level at the south end facing Carter-Finley Stadium.
August 2023
Raleigh and Wake County present their recommendations on how to allocate funds from the Raleigh-Wake County hotel and restaurant tax for the next 22 years.
That includes $300 million for PNC Arena, predicated on a long-term arena lease with the Carolina Hurricanes and the development of the almost 80 acres of vacant land around the arena.
Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell says $300 million should be enough to bring PNC up to modern NHL standards.
On Aug. 15, the arena authority and the Carolina Hurricanes agreed on two term sheets that include the following key points:
- A 20-year lease extension running through 2044. The extended lease replaces the extension the Hurricanes had signed through 2029 two years ago. It includes the stipulation that “the Hurricanes shall not relocate” unless the authority and the Hurricanes fail to “confer in good faith” on the “future of PNC Arena or a replacement arena” in 2039, when the building will be 40 years old.
- A framework for team owner Tom Dundon to develop the vacant land and parking lots around the arena. That includes an $800 million mixed-use development with retail, offices, housing, a hotel and a $40 million, 4,000-seat indoor music venue.
The Hurricanes would also pay the Centennial Authority $4.5 million per season starting in 2029, escalating to $5.5 million over the next 15 years. Under the current lease, they pay no rent and receive an operating subsidy of almost $2 million from the authority.
They’ll also pay $10 million to construct a sportsbook and upgrade office space and premium seating within the building, while the authority commits to spend the full $300 million in tourism-tax funds to improve the arena.
The new lease also asks the Hurricanes to use “best efforts” to host the NHL All-Star Game within three years of the completion of renovations, and another Stadium Series game within the next five years and “time to time hereafter.”
Centennial Authority chairman Philip Isley says upgrades to the 24-year-old arena could begin in summer 2024.
The City of Raleigh approved its part of the deal on Aug. 15 with the county doing the same on Aug. 21. They both signed off on spending tourism money on the arena as well as other big projects in Wake County, including renovating the Raleigh Convention Center and Red Hat Amphitheater.
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 2:05 PM.
