The first renderings have been revealed of proposed upgrades to the PNC Arena home of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Carolina Hurricanes.
Abc11 said proposals include a beer garden, grab-and-go food options at a market, updated entrance and concourses, improved premium area, additional toilets, and more parking spaces for broadcast capabilities, tour buses, and Hurricanes’ personnel.
The renderings of the planned improvements to the arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, were showcased during a presentation at the Centennial Authority’s latest meeting.
PNC Arena seats 18,700 for ice hockey and 19,500 for basketball and includes 61 suites, 13 luxury boxes and 2,000 club seats. The building has three concourses and a 300-seat restaurant.
The arena is home to the Hurricanes and the North Carolina State University Wolfpack men’s basketball team of NCAA Division I.
The Hurricanes recently struck a deal to build a multi-phase, mixed-use district around PNC Arena after a lease extension was approved and signed by the Centennial Authority.
The agreement with the authority, which officially owns and oversees the arena and its operation, will keep the team at PNC Arena through at least the 2043-44 NHL season.
The signing of the lease extension jump-started the $300 million arena enhancement project that will begin construction in 2025, upgrading the 25-year-old venue for Hurricanes and NC State fans.
Centennial Authority Chair Philip Isley said of the latest proposals, “With these tweaks and these other changes, it’s going to make sure that this building is not only great for the next five years, but for the next 15 (years), the next 25 years, when we decide what we’re going to do next. We’re trying to do this for the fan experience and the community.”
Abc11 further stated that while fan surveys shared during the meeting gave the PNC Arena staff and gameday experience high marks, the 25-year-old building has drawn scrutiny from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Bettman has called for renovations to bring the facility into line with modern NHL arenas.
One idea includes removing seating from Sections 317, 318, and 319, to replace it with a View Bar and more free-flowing area.
The concept is similar to what Duke University plans with the introduction of its Devils Deck area inside Wallace Wade Stadium.
Mike Martinez, Associate Principal at LS3P, one of the firms working on the project, said, “The thinking is to expand what’s going out in the parking lot, the tailgating experience, and draw that into the building. Create a whole new experience and combine that with the scenic overlook.”
Isley added, “I think the ideas of removing all these stairs and obtaining so much more square footage is a really underutilized effort to make the concourses feel a lot less crowded. The first concourse level on any game day is really, really crowded.
Isley hopes to begin construction in 2025, with work taking place during multiple phases and years.
He said, “The biggest issue we are going to have is that this is an active building. We’re going to only be able to do construction at a time when the building is either not being used or you’re going have to cordon off certain areas while the building is being used.”
He added that there will likely be a time in which the building will be shut down during the later stages of construction.
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