Major changes coming to PNC Arena area. Here’s a look at what’s in long-awaited plan

Plans for the new Raleigh Sports & Entertainment District were unveiled Wednesday, providing a closer look at what’s to come at what has been called PNC Arena but soon will have a new name to go with the new look.

The first phase of the $1 billion mixed-use project, which has a 15-year development timeline, will involve:

▪ The building of a 150-room hotel and more than 500 apartments.

▪ A 4,300-seat concert venue operated by Live Nation.

▪ More than 200,000 square feet for entertainment and retail, and 150,000 square feet of office space.

The arena, opened in 1999, is home to the Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State men’s basketball and due to undergo a $300 million renovation. The approval of development of the 80 acres around the arena was a key factor in the Hurricanes, and owner Tom Dundon, agreeing to a 20-year extension of the Hurricanes’ arena lease.

The entertainment district is being developed by Dallas-based Pacific Elm Properties and Gale Force Sports & Entertainment, parent company of the Hurricanes.

The Centennial Authority, the appointed body that is the arena’s landlord, will meet Thursday and could approve a new naming-rights agreement. “PNC Arena” signage has been removed from the arena this week and some “Lenovo” signage was spotted being put in place on Wednesday.

Brian Fork, chief executive officer of Hurricanes Holdings, LLC., said Wednesday the first phase is scheduled to begin in December 2025, after NC State’s football season, and could take four to five years to complete. He said $200 million had been committed to the authority by the Hurricanes for the first phase and that the total commitment of the three phases was $800 million.

Fork said the development could be the next step toward building the “premier sports and entertainment district in the country and keeping the area a regional economic driver for decades to come.”

“I think the goal we have out here is just to bring more people out to the arena,” Fork said. “We’ve got about 160 events a year within the arena, plus football at the stadium, so you’ve got about 200 days of the year where there’s not much going on out here. This is such a centrally located place in Raleigh, in the Triangle, and can be such an asset for the community. “

One feature will be a 600-foot-long promenade that will have tailgating suites, balconies and open space for fans to gather.

Tailgating has been an issue in the development plans. N.C. State uses the parking lots around the arena for the massive amount of tailgating associated with football games, and many Wolfpack fans and season-ticket holders have enjoyed the same parking spots for numerous seasons. Some will be displaced as the development continues.

“I think there’s going to be change and change is always difficult, right?” NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan said in an Aug. 23 press conference. “Because I think we have the best parking in college football. People like to talk about other places around the country that have these tailgating zones and these great areas, and I try to be quick to remind people that’s because they don’t have any parking.

”It will change. It’s not going to change tomorrow. It will change over time, and as it does change we’re going to be a part of it, of what changes do occur, where are there revenue opportunities for the athletic department.”

Corrigan said he has developed a good working relationship in a short period of time with Fork, who was named CEO by the Hurricanes in July. He said NCSU would continue to communicate with the authority and Gale Force in all discussions “to make sure what’s going on.”

Two parking garages next to what’s being called the “tailgating experience” are planned that are scheduled to open before the 2027 football season.

“After more than two decades, we are fulfilling the creation of a world-class destination that our local and state partners expected when the Arena was opened in 1999,” Philip Isley, chairman of the Centennial Authority, said Wednesday in a statement. “This proposed development ensures that our arena renovations will be enhanced by building this transformational sports and entertainment district to ensure our arena remains a regional attraction and economic catalyst for many decades to come.”

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said the plans look “really well-thought out.”

“I love how they have preserved the tradition of tailgating but still allow for the expanded amenities that we need,” Baldwin said in an interview. “Great balance of space. I’m excited.”

The proposal to build a 4,300-seat music venue next to the arena comes as the city is deciding how to build a new Red Hat Amphitheater to make room for expansion of the convention center downtown.

Baldwin doesn’t think the venues would compete with each other. The city hopes the new downtown amphitheater will seat 6,500 to 7,000 people, which the mayor said attracts different performers than the smaller venue would.

“This will be a different type of experience,” she said of the arena amphitheater. “So I think we’re talking two different things.”

Shinica Thomas, who heads the Wake County Board of Commissioners, said board members hadn’t seen the plans in detail but trust the Centennial Authority to “make good decisions” about the area around the arena.

“The proposed enhancements are an important component of the long-term viability of the venue, and they helped support the decision the county and the city made to invest $300 million in hospitality tax funds in arena improvements,” Thomas said in an email. “We look forward to this part of our community becoming an even greater draw for sports fans and concert-goers from our region and beyond.”

The changes will transform an area that’s often quiet into a year-around destination, said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“This is something Raleigh and the arena area has been hoping for since the original arena opened,” Edwards wrote in an email. “We applaud Tom Dundon and the Carolina Hurricanes organization, N.C. State University and the Centennial Authority for reaching an agreement that will be one of the most transformative projects Raleigh has ever experienced and will be a major draw for visitors around the country and ultimately worldwide.“

Fork said the renderings released Wednesday were “conceptual drawings” of the planned development. The next step is going through a city rezoning process to gain approval of the plans.