West Raleigh is gearing up for the possibility of another round of traffic nightmares on Friday, ahead of a nice weekend filled with tons of large events in the area.
It comes with Thursday’s start of the North Carolina State Fair and back-to-back nights of Billie Eilish concerts at the Lenovo Center. The concerts start at 7 p.m. on Friday.
WRAL News did not hear of any reports of bad traffic or backup, compared to Tuesday’s Chris Brown Concert at Carter-Finley. However, since Eilish’s second concert day overlaps with one of the busiest days to attend the N.C. State Fair—and the start of a nice weekend—traffic is expected to much heavier than what Thursday brought.
Raleigh Mayor on major traffic in the city
“There’s just work to do to get this better,” Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said.
Cowell told WRAL News that Raleigh residents flooded her email inbox with complaints of traffic woes created by Tuesday night’s Chris Brown concert at Carter-Finley Stadium, coinciding with rush hour. Some people with tickets either missed several hours of the show or didn’t even make it to the venue’s first concert in nearly a decade.
WRAL News asked Cowell what her office is doing to try to alleviate the traffic issues around the Lenovo Center and Carter-Finley Stadium.
“The main solution I have is that the Raleigh Police Department, I would love to see them more directly involved,” Cowell said, adding the officers had “no formal role at all in the traffic” for the Chris Brown concert.
“So, the fact that NC State and the police are getting together to debrief this whole event next week, that’s, that’s what I want to see,” she continued.
People attending the Billie Eilish concerts should plan to arrive several hours early.
On Thursday, a Lenovo Center spokesperson provided a statement.
“We try to strike a balance between managing traffic and congestion without turning away world-class tours that have a limited window to visit North Carolina,” the statement reads.
The Lenovo Center has already sent a notice encouraging guests attending the Billie Eilish concert to arrive early due to fair traffic, writing:
“Local traffic is encouraged to consider alternate routes. Those attending events at Lenovo Center are encouraged to plan ahead, carpool if possible and arrive early. Lenovo Center parking lots will open at 1 p.m. prior to each event and are reserved for event attendees on the respective days.”
The fair’s opening night is usually a popular one. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 11 p.m. Evening fair visitors and concert traffic will likely overlap. On Friday, the fair runs until 11:30 p.m. Evening visitors will again contend with concert traffic.
The state fair runs through Oct. 26. WRAL’s guide to the N.C. State Fair has tips for parking, shuttles and more.
The Lenovo Center is scheduled to host rapper NBA YoungBoy at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, and country singer Tate McRae at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25.
North Carolina State Fair Division Director Kent Yelverton spoke with WRAL News about Tuesday night’s traffic congestion.
“When there are two large events, everyone suffers,” Yelverton said.
When it comes to the fair itself, Yelverton said they can handle huge numbers because the fair has turnover throughout the day, rather than a concert where everyone is trying to get to one spot at the same time.
“When a second large event is in the area, sharing the roads, sharing the parking, it certainly impacts the experience for everyone’s customers,” Yelverton said.
People driving in the area of the Lenovo Center and the fairgrounds in west Raleigh—including Blue Ridge Road, Edwards Mill Road, Hillsborough Street, Wade Avenue, Trinity Road, and along Interstate 440—should be aware of traffic before, during and after the Thursday and Friday evening commutes.
Planned renovations at the Lenovo Center could attract larger crowds
The Lenovo Center is planning a $300-million renovation project, which could attract more people to the area. The renovations do not include plans to improve the roads around the venues.
“We all have to pay attention to the infrastructure,” Yelverton said. “If we’re over-building for the infrastructure, then it makes it very hard to maintain that customer service and experience.”
The North Carolina General Assembly approved a $35 million boost to development plans around the Lenovo Center last month, which will impact the roads.
History of traffic woes around the Lenovo Center, Carter-Finley Stadium and the North Carolina State Fairgrounds
The area around the Lenovo Center, Carter-Finley Stadium and the North Carolina State Fairgrounds has a history of traffic congestion for big events.
It includes the February 2023 NHL Stadium Series event at Carter-Finley Stadium when the Carolina Hurricanes played the Washington Capitals. Traffic was backed up for miles.
Something similar to Tuesday’s traffic woes happened in May 2016, when some fans who paid hundreds of dollars to see Beyoncé at Carter-Finley Stadium got stuck in traffic and missed much of the show.
In 2009, when fans packed Raleigh for a U2 show, the same thing happened. Many drivers were tied up in traffic for hours and missed the show.
“We don’t want our customers sitting [in traffic] like that … for the Lenovo Center or the state fair,” Yelverton said. “We’ve got people on the street that are trying to get in and enjoy the fair [and] Lenovo Center has customers that have paid a lot of money to watch a concert, and they want to be there when it begins.”
The history of traffic woes has prompted the NC State football team and the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team to plan around the North Carolina State Fair.
In 2002, a large traffic backup occurred when the North Carolina State Fair, an NC State football game, and a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game were held all on the same day.
After the incident, the Carolina Hurricanes apologized to their fans and asked the NHL not to schedule any home games during the State Fair again.
NC State has not played a home football game during the fair since 2008, when the Wolfpack played on the first day of the fair. Annabelle Myers, the NC State associate athletic director, said that the school submits a request to the ACC every year to not have home games during the North Carolina State Fair.
The Hurricanes’ next home game is Oct. 28 at the Lenovo Center when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Wolfpack’s next home game is Nov. 1 at Carter-Finley Stadium when they take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.