The arena home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State men's basketball team is now officially the Lenovo Center.
The Centennial Authority board, which owns the arena, voted unanimously Thursday morning to approve a global computer maker as the venue's naming rights sponsor.
Other WRAL Top Stories
The agreement is for 10 years and worth $60 million.
The deal is between the Hurricanes and Lenovo, but the Centennial Authority has to approve the deal. The Hurricanes talked to several companies, but an agreement with Lenovo has been the focus for a long time, said Brian Fork, the CEO of Hurricanes Holdings.
"It demonstrates our commitment to the community and also our belief in the future of the entertainment district and of this arena," said David Hamilton, Lenovo's director of communications for North America.
RBC paid about $80 million for a 20-year naming rights deal that started in 2002. It expired in 2022 and PNC Bank, which had bought RBC and its assets in 2012, extended its deal for two more seasons at a lower per-season payment.
The arena was known as the Entertainment & Sports Arena from 1999 to 2002, RBC Center from 2002 to 2012 and PNC Arena from 2012 to 2024.
Lenovo has one of its two global corporate headquarters in Morrisville. It employs more than 5,000 people in North America with the majority of those in North Carolina.
"We can't be lucky enough to have the homegrown North Carolina company naming our arena," said Philip Isley, the chairman of the Centennial Authority.
Said Hamilton: "In our local market, where better to have our name on than on the best venue in town."
Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005 and its server business in 2014. It also acquired Motorola in 2015. The company will also use technology to interact with fans in the arena.
The company has had a number of sponsorship agreements with the Hurricanes since 2010, including having a decal on the team's helmets for the last three seasons. This arena is the only sports naming rights agreement that Lenovo has.
"It demonstrates our belief that this area is continuing to grow, that the Triangle is a great place to live," Hamilton said. "We certainly know the importance of the Triangle."
Crews began taking down exterior PNC signage and installing Lenovo signs this week. The naming was changed on center ice a few weeks ago, though it has been covered up because of concerts in the arena, which can hold more than 19,000.
Isley said Centennial Authority is responsible for up to $1 million when it comes to replacing the signage on the building. The big tarp covering the first sign that was raised Wednesday will come down in a ceremony next week.
"We are, for much of the country, a regional technology hub," Isley said. "We think having Lenovo here in our sight and ultimately putting their products in place that make the fan experience better and just having the general public see what they can actually do is going to be really great."
The name was displayed briefly in a trailer for the EA Sports NHL 25 video game.
The naming rights change comes at a time when the arena is set to undergo a $300-million renovation and a massive redevelopment project around the arena.
"They loved the development area," said Doug Warf, president of Hurricanes Holdings. "That's a big part. When you see the foot traffic and the amount of people in the eyeballs that are going to come to this area. It's a game changer for what's going to be here in three to four years."