Confirmed with Link: Hurricanes extend PNC Arena lease for 20 years, Govt allocates $300m to arena renovation, Gale Force at least $800m to land development of the complex

[tarheelhockey]

After all those worries about how awful he'd be at the start to now see us as a top contending team for the 3rd straight year while always spending to the cap, a sold out arena most nights, 5 straight years of the playoffs, having just played an outdoor game at Carter Finley almost exactly 6 months ago, and now seeing a $1.1 billion long term investment into the arena complex? What the shit, if you told me this 8 years ago I wouldn't have believed you. At all

Cannot agree with this strongly enough.

Hell, I think back to even after Dundon came on board, how things looked in those first few months. The sequence where he canned Francis, passed on the entire GM market to internally promote Waddell, passed on the entire coaching market to internally promote RBA, introduced the “Borg” concept to widespread mockery, lowballed and then canned Kaiton, we saw all of Ward/Skinner/Lindholm/Hanifin/Rask thrown overboard with only Hamilton/Ferland coming back the other way, the only positive preseason news being Svech and Whalers jerseys, and then by 12/22 we have only 14 wins in 34 games and the building is near empty every night… that was just unbelievably grim. Close to Coyotes and Blue Jackets level grim. It’s hard to explain why any of us are even here after all that crap. It didn’t exactly feel like the franchise was burning down to relocation just yet, but Dundon didn’t look like the solution and his long term motives weren’t entirely clear at that time.

Then Whalers Night happened, Bunch of Jerks happened, 31-14-2 happened, 2OT happened, and like… all the things happened. Just like flipping a switch.

 

[SoupNazi]

Obligatory DUNDON IS RUINING HAWKEY BECUZ HE'S SO CHEAP!!!

 

[SoupNazi]

And millions of QC and Montreal trolls were silenced

You wanna bet on that?

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

You wanna bet on that?

No. I is not stupid

 

[Unsustainable]

Seems like a lot of money

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

Can't wait for the obigatory bitch fest posts from @Negan4Coach and @Svechhammer during 20+ years of construction:

They've had years to figure out the traffic and parking. It's worse now than ever! What were they thinking? Fire Waddell!

(Meant in good fun)

(Or not )

 

[Svechhammer]

Today seemed like a great day to go down memory lane with a 'Canes Relocation' search on HFB

I was not disappointed

 

[Unsustainable]

Business Forum seems to forget PK no longer owns the Canes and we have a spending owner

 

[chaz4hockey]

Dundon is clearly a smart businessman and our fan base is lucky to have him (agree with Svetch above).

He paid a reasonable price for the Canes, revamped organization focus, invested on the ice spending to the cap which along with organizational change leads to significant standings-playoffs/attendence improvements (which boosts his revs by tens of millions).

Then, he gets Sportsbooks revenue to pad earnings followed by an up-to-date arena with enhanced premium revenue opportunities.

And now, he gets to be a developer which should provide a huge return on capital.

PNC's improvements may not be world class but I suspect that it will be so good that it will attract more non-sports fans, ie a go-to attraction for the Triangle.

This is a good day for both Dundon and Canes fans.

 

[Francis10]

So as a Canes fan from Canada, I have only been to see us play in Raleigh once. I thought the area around PNC was great but definitely a lack of restaurants and bars and hotels.

With this announcement, it sounds like the new development that they are allowing Dundon to do has to be on the existing paved parking lots and cannot be removing trees that are surrounding the existing parking. Or am I not reading that correctly? How will this effect the tailgating experience with less parking?

 

[Svechhammer]

So as a Canes fan from Canada, I have only been to see us play in Raleigh once. I thought the area around PNC was great but definitely a lack of restaurants and bars and hotels.

With this announcement, it sounds like the new development that they are allowing Dundon to do has to be on the existing paved parking lots and cannot be removing trees that are surrounding the existing parking. Or am I not reading that correctly? How will this effect the tailgating experience with less parking?

The lots around Carter-Finley will not be impacted, only the paved lots around PNC. For those wanting to tailgate, there will be a 5 acre area set aside to allow for it, and I suspect you'll see some of the C-F lots remain open, much like they do now.

Long story short, if you want to tailgate, you'll still have that option. They're just angling to give an option to those who want a more bar/restaurant vibe before/after a game.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The lots around Carter-Finley will not be impacted, only the paved lots around PNC. For those wanting to tailgate, there will be a 5 acre area set aside to allow for it, and I suspect you'll see some of the C-F lots remain open, much like they do now.

Long story short, if you want to tailgate, you'll still have that option. They're just angling to give an option to those who want a more bar/restaurant vibe before/after a game.

Basically the tailgating will be more concentrated in specific places. On 99.9% of game days that shouldn’t impact the amount of tailgating, just the location.

Edit: actually, let’s reserve judgment on that second sentence. The folks who are used to tailgating close to the arena might not necessarily make the jump to a new location, especially if it involves a new cost factor.

 

[Francis10]

Ya that’s what was neat about the whole tailgating thing was that it was so close to PNC. If all those lots now will be switched to restaurants and bars and condos I wonder if tailgating will take a hit?

Not trying to be negative but just asking questions as an outsider. This news today overall is awesome for the Canes and the City of Raleigh. The arena needs some updates for sure.

Dumb question, but can they remove some of the trees in the area around PNC? Or is that a reserve or something?

 

[Novacane]

Overpayment.

jk I love this

 

[Svechhammer]

Ya that’s what was neat about the whole tailgating thing was that it was so close to PNC. If all those lots now will be switched to restaurants and bars and condos I wonder if tailgating will take a hit?

Not trying to be negative but just asking questions as an outsider. This news today overall is awesome for the Canes and the City of Raleigh. The arena needs some updates for sure.

Dumb question, but can they remove some of the trees in the area around PNC? Or is that a reserve or something?

I mean I've always tailgated right by the cemetery, so I can't speak for the people who tailgate right there, but for the Stadium Series and the first couple games of the playoffs this year I tailgated behind the indoor football facility, and while it was a bit more of a walk, it was still a good experience. There are a lot of ways for the Canes and NC State to preserve the tailgating experience for the people who want to continue it while still pivoting for the next 20 years as Raleigh continues to grow.

The scene will probably be different going forward, but that doesn't mean it'll be bad. Even for the playoffs. the vast majority of people show up within an hour of the game.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Now a baseball team please, thanks.

Also completely unrelated but thought it was an interesting piece of news that the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament (one of the 3-4 biggest tournaments in the US, and one of the biggest 15 or so worldwide) has a strong chance at moving to Charlotte in the next 2-3 years. Not the triangle region but still cool news for the Carolinas in general.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Big day for the franchise. There are still A LOT of shoes left to drop, as always with major construction projects. It might be messy around the arena for the next little while, which we will gripe about in the short term. But man, what a satisfying moment to see this vision come together. Dundon really turned this shit around in a dramatic way.

It's crazy, until now I was steeled for the moment when Dundon announced that it wasn't working in North Carolina, please welcome the Houston Hurricanes!

This is the final catharsis of the darkest chapter for the franchises' tenure in Raleigh.

 

[LakeLivin]

Now a baseball team please, thanks.

Also completely unrelated but thought it was an interesting piece of news that the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament (one of the 3-4 biggest tournaments in the US, and one of the biggest 15 or so worldwide) has a strong chance at moving to Charlotte in the next 2-3 years. Not the triangle region but still cool news for the Carolinas in general.

They have tennis tournaments other than the 4 Grand Slam ones? Asking for a friend.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

They have tennis tournaments other than the 4 Grand Slam ones? Asking for a friend.

Lol yeah the slams are obviously on another level in terms of popularity but the next highest ones (Masters 1000 level) are still a pretty big deal within the sport. You see, tennis is one of those sports that they play year round with no significant breaks unlike hockey, basketball, football, baseball, etc.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Now a baseball team please, thanks.

Also completely unrelated but thought it was an interesting piece of news that the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament (one of the 3-4 biggest tournaments in the US, and one of the biggest 15 or so worldwide) has a strong chance at moving to Charlotte in the next 2-3 years. Not the triangle region but still cool news for the Carolinas in general.

I've been banging this horse for a while, but I think there needs to be a way to promote the Durham Bulls to MLB and become their version of Green Bay. It would require a major ballpark expansion, but it would be the perfect fit from a branding perspective to have a historical brand with universal name recognition representing the RDU area in the major leagues.

 

[Svechhammer]

I've been banging this horse for a while, but I think there needs to be a way to promote the Durham Bulls to MLB and become their version of Green Bay. It would require a major ballpark expansion, but it would be the perfect fit from a branding perspective to have a historical brand with universal name recognition representing the RDU area in the major leagues.

On one hand, I agree

On the other hand, I'd love a team in Raleigh, either downtown or around the new sports district, with the Bulls remaining as a minor league affiliate. I don't think having a MLB and minor league baseball team in the area is an either/or. This region is almost the home and heart of minor league baseball, there will always be a home for it. We just could afford to have a MLB team as well.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Durham could pull a true alpha move and beat both Charlotte and Raleigh to the MLB punch, then unveil the coup de grace:

Durham-Raleigh Bulls

 

[wolfofthesteppes]

I've been banging this horse for a while, but I think there needs to be a way to promote the Durham Bulls to MLB and become their version of Green Bay. It would require a major ballpark expansion, but it would be the perfect fit from a branding perspective to have a historical brand with universal name recognition representing the RDU area in the major leagues.

I think 'drum' is the word you are looking for.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

I think 'drum' is the word you are looking for.

It was funnier the first time.

Hey Horse
Hey Horse (pause) f****r
Are you okay?

 

[Unhinged Finn]

Sounds great, I'm happy for you all.

Are they finally going to make toilets with rink view? You know, Pee N C arena.

Yes, I hate myself for that (too).