Where does UNC stand on its monumental decision on the Smith Center’s future?

Joel Berry II was getting ready for bed on Dec. 14, when he got an unexpected text message: There would be a video conference call the following evening with university leaders to discuss the future of the Dean E. Smith Center.

According to multiple sources familiar with the planning, the call with former players had already been scheduled, but was moved up on the calendar. The short notice caught Berry by surprise, he said, as did the scale of the meeting.

Berry, a starting guard on North Carolina’s 2017 NCAA championship team, was one of roughly 90 to 100 former players who joined the Dec. 15 call, organized by UNC officials. The video conference, as first reported by Inside Carolina, was led by Chancellor Lee Roberts, athletic director Bubba Cunningham, and incoming athletic director Steve Newmark, to present various options UNC has studied for the future of the Smith Center, and to seek feedback.

According to multiple sources who joined the call, the conversation carried a heavy emotional undercurrent. Myriad former players and coaches spoke, many expressing a strong desire for the Smith Center to stay at its current site while also raising pointed questions and concerns about the process.

Stakeholders across the board who spoke to The News & Observer widely agreed that UNC’s communication had not been ideal throughout the process.

“I honestly think they thought the call was going to go one way, and it went another way, opposite of what I’m sure they wanted,” Berry told The N&O. “I’m happy it did, if it did catch them by surprise. Because, you know what? Y’all didn’t bring us in. And it’s sad that we’re all sitting on here — legends sitting on that call — and this is the first time that anyone is hearing about this.”

Chapel Hill’s Smith Center future under review

Discussions about the future of the Smith Center have been ongoing for more than a decade. In recent weeks, though, talks have accelerated. UNC officials held three key stakeholder meetings in a short span: one with the Rams Club, Monday night’s call with former players, and another with a mix of players and donors. Many more meetings are scheduled.

Cunningham described the call with players as “very good.”

“I think the meetings we’ve had have been helpful to make sure we get it right,” Cunningham told The N&O. “I think everybody wants what’s best for Carolina basketball. And you need an awful lot of input to be sure that you get it right.”

The video conference came days after a group identifying itself as “Tar Heels Concerned for the Future of the Dean E. Smith Center and Carolina Basketball” submitted an open letter to Roberts opposing any move of the Smith Center off campus, specifically to the Carolina North site — the 250-acre parcel located near the now-defunct Horace Williams Airport.

“We appreciate that you have decided to postpone any announcement about such relocation of our basketball arena and that you are now open to having select focus groups to hear from significant stakeholders,” the letter, obtained by The N&O, states. “These sessions we trust are to create an open process for evaluating on campus options with greater collaboration. As stakeholders, we feel we have not been included to date in any known process and feel strongly that the Smith Center and men’s basketball must remain on campus.”

The letter expresses its support for a “far less expensive” and “far more fan and student friendly” renovation or rebuild of the Smith Center in its current location.

“We further wish to honor Dean Smith’s request that our cherished basketball brand and legacy always remain on campus,” the letter states. “We feel this is all possible and hope for a collaborative process moving forward!”

The letter includes the names of 91 supporters, including but not limited to members of former national championship rosters, Hall of Famers and longtime athletic program supporters.

In a statement provided to The N&O on Friday in response to the letter, the university stated it had heard from many individuals named in the letter “who told us they did not authorize the use of their name, including individuals who have participated in focus groups, interviews, and surveys since 2023.”

The university did not identify which names it was referencing.

The statement emphasized “a deliberate, three-year evaluation process” undertaken by UNC to weigh renovation and on-campus options alongside proposed new arena concepts.

“During that time, University and athletics leadership, donors and community stakeholders have engaged in a structured, inclusive evaluation of the Smith Center’s future,” the statement read, citing donor outreach, meetings, workshops, surveys, focus groups, briefings and input from industry consultants as evidence of an inclusive effort.

Carolina North a key factor in UNC’s future

University leaders have been evaluating the Smith Center’s condition, amenities and long-term viability since at least 2013, when UNC worked with 360 Architecture on a proposed plan that would build a new arena in the adjacent Bowles Lot.

Opened in 1986, the Smith Center currently seats 21,750 fans. Aging infrastructure, limited capacity for premium amenities — and, in recent years, the increasing necessity for revenue generation — have prompted university officials to explore whether a full renovation or new facility would best support the basketball program and athletic department as a whole.

As previously reported by The N&O, the university has considered six potential paths: renovating the existing Smith Center; rebuilding on the current site; constructing a new arena in the Bowles Lot; building at Odum Village; placing it at the Friday Center; or building a new arena at the Carolina North development.

Chapel Hill mayor Jess Anderson told The N&O that Carolina North will be a “really important piece” of meeting challenges and solving problems for the town in the future — particularly as local government looks to meet housing demands. Cunningham emphasized that UNC will “definitely develop” Carolina North. His contract stipulates that, in his role as senior advisor beginning on July 1, 2026, Cunningham’s responsibilities will include “overseeing the development of the Carolina North project — planning, funding, and execution of construction of major facilities.”

In the past few months, heavy momentum existed in favor of moving the Smith Center to Carolina North. That momentum has stalled amid more introspection and stakeholder input.

In August, Cunningham estimated a decision on the future of the Smith Center might be made by the end of the calendar year. Speaking to The N&O on Saturday, Cunningham declined to provide an updated timeline, saying the matter is “still up in the air.”

“I don’t think we’re going to rush it,” Cunningham said. “We’re going to make sure that we hear and make a decision that the university community is excited about. When we get to that point, that’s when we’ll decide.”

Given the uncertainty, no decision is expected in January. Several sources familiar with the decision-making process believe a determination could still be months away and describe the situation as fluid.

UNC has emphasized that conversations with the “Carolina basketball community” will continue as the process moves forward.

“We recognize there will always be divergent points of view among our passionate fans and alumni,” the statement from UNC reads. “However, we remain unified in our primary objective: to maintain Carolina Basketball as the elite program in the country.”

For many players like Berry, though, the debate is less about resisting change than about how a decision of this magnitude is handled.

“To be able to have that many people on a call was pretty impressive. It shows the magnitude of like, why people care about this, why former players care about this,” Berry said. “The substance of the call and the people that were on there kind of blew me away. That showed the chancellor and the new AD that this is something that we all care about as players, and that this decision isn’t taken lightly.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 5:30 AM.