Boylan Heights residents oppose street closure for Red Hat Amphitheater relocation

Some residents of Raleigh’s Boylan Heights neighborhood are calling for city leaders to halt plans to relocate the Red Hat Amphitheater one block south from its current location.

However, business development groups believe the venue is necessary for downtown prosperity.

The current location of Red Hat Amphitheater has always been temporary since it opened in June 2010 at 500 S. McDowell St.

The city plans to move the amphitheater one block south, to 205 W. Lenoir St., to allow for more seats inside the venue and an expansion of the Raleigh Convention Center.

The convention center plans to add 300,000 square feet of space to bring the total to about 800,000 square feet.

More than $387 million has been allocated to help pay to expand the Raleigh Convention Center and relocate Red Hat Amphitheater.

Construction is set to start on the new amphitheater in spring 2025. The last concert of the season for Red Hat is Oct. 20, 2024, and the amphitheater is set to host ice skating at the rink from Nov. 23, 2024- Jan. 20, 2025.

As part of the project, the city would permanently close South Street between Dawson Street and McDowell Street. Some people in the Boylan Heights neighborhood fear if South Street closes, their neighborhood would be cut off from the downtown corridor.

On Tuesday night, the Boylan Heights Neighborhood Association met with Raleigh City Council Member Jane Harrison to look at different renderings that won’t close South Street.

The closure would require a vote by the Raleigh City Council, expected in September. Any delay could put the project at risk, according to the downtown Raleigh Alliance.

“Failure to vote for that could result in the amphitheater not happening, and so that would be a devastating loss to downtown,” Downtown Raleigh Alliance President and CEO Bill King said.

If the city moves forward, the plan is to have the new Red Hat Amphitheater open for the 2026 season.

Residents at the meeting presented multiple renderings from an architect that would include a new space for Red Hat Amphitheater without closing any streets.

"People in southeast Raleigh have a direct rout here," Jay Spain said. The buses come right down here from Western Boulevard. They pull up [and] they pick up somebody right here at the corner."

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin sent WRAL News a statement via text message about the future of Red Hat Amphitheater.

"We need Red Hat downtown," Baldwin wrote. "It brings positive foot traffic, helps support our downtown businesses and hotels, and helps with downtown vitality.

"If we don’t move and rebuild the amphitheater, it will seriously impact downtown and its future — as well as our food and beverage and hotel occupancy taxes, which are used for such projects as PNC Arena’s renovation and the Convention Center expansion. The consequences would be far reaching."

Baldwin said city leaders spent a year working on how to revitalize downtown and improve public safety.

"Red Hat is critical to our efforts," Baldwin wrote.

On Aug. 7, Baldwin posted on the social media platform X about the relocation of Red Hat Amphitheater, writing, "If we lose Red Hat, we lose the future of downtown.”

The timing to expand the Raleigh Convention Center is also set to coincide with the opening of the new 550-room Omni hotel by 2028. The hotel is scheduled to be across from the Raleigh Convention Center and Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts at the end of Fayetteville Street.

King said the venue has nearly 100 days of events in a calendar year.

Weekday shows – like Tuesday’s concert with singer Still Woozy and special guest Michelle – can bring a big bump to business.

“We're a downtown,” King said. “We don't have the arena and we don't have a sports venue.

Michael Motsinger wrote a letter about Tuesday’s meeting on behalf of the Boylan Heights Neighborhood Association about the proposed closure of South Street.

“This request should not be interpreted as being in opposition to the Amphitheater, as the neighborhood recognizes it as an important asset to supporting downtown businesses as we recover from the pandemic,” Motsinger wrote. “What we do request is that the city explore other options to accomplish keeping the Amphitheater in place without closing an important east/west connection for neighborhoods and businesses on both sides of downtown, as well as a likely route for the Chavis- Dix stroll way.”

The advocacy group Save Our Amphitheater states that South Street between Dawson Street and McDowell Street sees less than 300 cars per hour at peak travel times. To compare, the group said nearby McDowell Street sees nearly 2,000 cars per hour at the same peak time.

WRAL News also asked King about the possibility of moving the amphitheater to Dix Park.

“I'm a big fan of that park,” King said. “I think it's tremendous. I think we should invest in it.

“But [if] you move it to the park, it would be a lot more expensive to build. You'd have to build parking. You'd have reckon with traffic. Noise issues would be a bigger concern. It's up on a plateau, and the other thing is, the most important thing you'd lose is the economic impact.”

King said several surrounding businesses like bars, restaurants and retailers benefit from the events hosted by Red Hat Amphitheater. He also said Dix Park is not surrounded by nearly as many businesses given its location.

"I'm hoping it's going to be we save Red Hat and we save South Street, because that's what Raleigh is about, is saving their communities now," Spain said. "We can't destroy [them]."

A new Red Hat Amphitheater could open by the 2026 season.