PNC Arena is getting a new roof.
And a lot more improvements could be on the way.
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The Centennial Authority, which owns the Raleigh arena that is home to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State’s men’s basketball team, on Thursday approved a $25.8 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The $7.6 million roof is the largest of 17 enhancement projects included in the budget.
Planning is already underway for larger improvements to the 23-year-old arena and development of the surrounding area.
The board will meet June 29 for a presentation from architecture and design firms Ratio and HOK on proposed work and fees for enhancements to PNC Arena. The authority voted last month to restart the enhancement project, which was delayed during the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is also going to be a great meeting for you all to kick tires, look under the hood, ask questions about what we can do here, what new trends are," chairman Philip Isley told the board Thursday. "We're going to have lots of really important meetings as we get through the next few years."
The firms proposed a $200 million renovation project for the arena in 2019, but the total cost is likely to be higher now.
HOK has worked on dozens of sports venues, including Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Ratio has an office in Raleigh and has designed public spaces, including Raleigh’s East Civic Tower and the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis.
“All of us sitting at this table are on the same team that this building is going to be activated on steroids as compared to where it has been in the past,” board member Doyle Parrish said Tuesday during a building committee meeting. “That’s our whole goal with the enhancement project.”
The board also approved Thursday a 90-day contract for a consulting group to begin work a plan for developing the area around PNC Arena and the adjacent Carter-Finley Stadium, where the Wolfpack plays football. Those findings, which will include conversations with major stakeholders, are expected to be presented to the board in October.
In 2021, the Hurricanes signed a five-year lease extension to remain at the arena through the 2028-29 season. As part of that agreement, the Hurricanes do not pay rent for use of the arena. Previously, the team paid $2.45 million in base rent. The Hurricanes operate the arena through Gale Force Sports and Entertainment. The agreement calls for profit sharing with the authority on 50 percent of "verified, cumulative consolidated positive operating cash flow," WRAL previously reported.
N.C. State pays a minimum guaranteed rent of $908,352 in the budget.
PNC Arena will host its first major esports, or electronic gaming, event in July. The event is expected to draw fans and competitors from approximately 30 nations. Board members allocated $50,000 from its 2022 fiscal year budget as a rental offset for the event, which they declined to name citing a pending public announcement next week.
"That has been something that has been coveted by the arena for several years now. And we finally got one," said Jeff Merritt, the executive director of the board.
Dextro, a gamer publication, reported last week that Apex Legends Global Series would host its championship at PNC Arena in July. Apex Legends is a shooter game, and the game's Twitter account has more than 3.2 million followers.
The authority is spending $200,000 in the 2023 fiscal year in support of the Hurricanes’ Feb. 18 outdoor game against Washington. The game will be held at Carter-Finley Stadium.
PNC Arena opened in 1999. The Centennial Authority owns the arena and its surrounding 80 acres. The Hurricanes and Gale Force Sports & Entertainment operate the facility. The authority has 21 board members, who were appointed by the General Assembly, Wake County, City of Raleigh, Wake County mayors and the chancellor of N.C. State.
The budget includes $9 million from Wake County and the City of Raleigh from taxes collected on hotel stays and prepared food and beverages.