The Canes in no ‘hurry’ to go from PNC Arena

Article posted by Coliseum, July 14^th, 2021

Image: PNC Arena

The National Hockey League (NHL) team Carolina Hurricanes will continue to treat PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina (US) as their home following the signing of a five-year lease extension with The Centennial Authority, the arena’s owners, which will run through September 30^th, 2029.

The ‘Sports Travel Magazine’ quoted Thomas McCormick, Centennial Authority Board Chair, as stating, “We are excited to extend this lease with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were an integral part of the team who built PNC Arena and the Centennial Authority Board is pleased to continue our operations of this regional arena with Hurricanes as a major tenant.”

The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina (US). They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division. The Hurricanes play their home games at the PNC Arena. The franchise was formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association.

The PNC Arena is an indoor arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The arena seats 18,176 for ice hockey and 19,722 for basketball, including 61 suites, 13 loge boxes and 2,000 club seats. The building has three concourses and a 300-seat restaurant.

The Centennial Authority provides facility oversight, finance monitoring, operations, upgrades, new additions, and all activities associated with ensuring the PNC Arena, a sports and entertainment venue, remains a first-class facility for the people of the State and region that it serves. This is a joint commission between the City of Raleigh and area organizations.

The Hurricanes, the first major professional sports franchise to locate in the Raleigh-Durham region, have called PNC Arena home since 1999 when the venue opened. The new lease extension includes operating expense agreements between the Centennial Authority and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment, termination rights and repayment and guarantee of performance.

The ‘Sports Travel Magazine’ further stated that the lease extension also includes a commitment by the Hurricanes Foundation to contribute cash and in-kind benefits of no less than $1 million per year to youth hockey and/or charities throughout the State of North Carolina.

Affirmed Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the Hurricanes, “We are proud to call PNC Arena and the Triangle home. This is an exciting time for our franchise on and off the ice and we plan to give this community plenty to cheer for now and into the future.”

A similar five-year lease extension was made in May 2020. The Hurricanes, along with North Carolina State basketball, have been the main tenants of the arena since it opened.

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