PNC Arena project ideas released. What can be done for $300M? :: WRALSportsFan.com

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Raleigh, N.C. — A view bar on the upper level, more restrooms, expanded suite options, remodeled and expanded entrances and increased space for loading and unloading entertainment acts are just a few of the projects that could be included in the $300 renovation at Raleigh’s PNC Arena.

For more than a decade, there have been plans, ideas and renderings for proposed renovations at the home of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and NC State’s men’s basketball team.

This time, however, the Centennial Authority board — which owns PNC Arena — has $300 million committed from Raleigh and Wake County to turn the ideas into reality.

“It’s extraordinarily exciting to see the ideas that Gensler has proposed to us,” Centennial Authority board chairman Philip Isley said Thursday. “It makes our next several years feel like it’s going to happen in a really good way.”

Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2025 in between seasons for the building’s major tenants and would likely span three or four years.

The design team of Gensler and LS3P, hired in February to bring more “wow” to old plans, presented the ideas to the board to enhance the arena, which opened in 1999.

Many of the ideas have been considered or bandied about before. The biggest question remains: How many of the proposed and coveted projects can be done with the $300-million budget is the big question? 

The board already tabled an idea for expanded office space, calling it too expensive. No prices or estimates were included in the presentation.

“While these pictures are incredible, we still have to find a way to pay for all this,” Isley said.

The plans are designed to improve the efficiency of the building, add money-making opportunities with food, beverage and premium seating and reduce wasted space. 

Some of the biggest changes would occur on the north side of the building where tour buses, broadcast trucks and big loading trucks are currently limited by the lack of space. The expansion would help align the arena with NHL standards, make it more appealing to bigger-name musical acts and create more secure parking spots for players and staff.

The designers presented three options for remodeling and renovating the exterior of the building, with the largest option creating changes at the east, south and west entrances to the building, including a massive lobby at the southern entrance.

“Some of the things we want to do we may not be able to do,” Isley said.

The city and county committed tax revenue to the project as part of a complex agreement that saw the Hurricanes extend their lease with the arena and be granted rights to develop up to 80 acres of land around the building. The money comes from an existing tax on prepared food and beverage and hotel stays.

The parties approved the final agreements in June.

But renovation plans have dated back far longer than that, stymied at various points by financial concerns and the pandemic. But Centennial Authority board chairman Philip Isely and his board, Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, former team president Don Waddell, along with leadership at NC State, the city and county were able to finally bring it all together late last year with a preliminary agreement.

“That was a Herculean task that they pulled out,” Brian Fork, one of the team’s new top business executives, said Wednesday. “What that now unlocks is a number of new things, the first being a $300-million infusion of capital into a renovation of this building.”

Development around the arena could begin after the 2025 NC State football season at Carter-Finley Stadium, located across the parking lot. The first phase of that development is expected to include a small music venue run by Live Nation, restaurants and bars, including an in-person sportsbook, and office, retail and living spaces.

“These are legacy projects.” said Doug Warf, another one of the team’s top new executives.

As for putting together the renovation inside the arena and the development around it, projects that will be happening at the same time, “it’s going to be a little bit of art and a lot of magic,” Centennial Authority board member Doyle Parrish said.

Fork, the chief executive officer of Hurricanes Holdings, and Warf, the president of Hurricanes Holdings, said Wednesday at their introductory press conference that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon is “very serious” about bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to Raleigh.