$300M Gets You Games

Seated above from left to right are Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell, Centennial Authority chairman Philip Isley, and North Carolina State athletic director Boo Corrigan. Normally, the two men on the ends sit across from Isley when it comes to negotiating arena deals, but the three men were seated together today as they announced an agreement that will renovate the 24-year-old PNC Arena in Raleigh, keep the Hurricanes at the arena through 2044, and give Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon the ability to develop the land around it. Surely that's big news for the city and team, but it's the fine print that has me scratching my head.

According to the press conference today, PNC Arena will see a $300-million renovation that keeps the Hurricanes as the main tenant of the rink thanks to a new 20-year lease extension, and the agreement has the Centennial Authority - a governing body created by the North Carolina General Assembly to ensure PNC Arena remains a first-class facility - giving Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon nearly 80 acres to develop into a sports and entertainment district and public gathering space. While I get attracting top-rate events to the arena, this sounds like the Hurricanes are certainly benefitting the most in this deal.

According to a report in The North State Journal, Dundon had linked the Hurricanes' future in the area to developing the vast amount of parking lots surrounding the arena into multi-purpose, mixed-use properties, and Dundon is "already committed to spending $800 million" to making that future a reality.

"This is an exciting day for the Triangle," Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon stated today. "This development will transform PNC Arena into a year-round destination for residents, while also improving the event day experience for Hurricanes fans, NC State fans and concertgoers alike. North Carolina is the home of the Hurricanes, and I am proud to say that the Hurricanes will continue to call PNC Arena home."

According to The Herald, this also puts to rest any relocation rumours surrounding the Hurricanes. This completely caught me off-guard as I wasn't aware that there had been rumours, but Chip Alexander writes, "For a period of time – certainly in the nine straight seasons the Canes did not make the Stanley Cup playoffs – that speculation surfaced annually and was annoying and exhausting to everyone associated with the team's management and ownership."

I'm not sure where those rumours started or even why they would be started, but the Hurricanes are staying in Raleigh until 2044 at the very earliest with this new deal. And that might be very relevant considering the next tidbit of news that seems awfully convenient considering the investment of $300 million today.

Luke DeCock of The News & Observer noted that not only will the arena be upgraded, the arena around the arena see massive development, and the Hurricanes will remain part of the city's identity, but there will be "another NHL All-Star Game and outdoor game at Carter-Finley Stadium" in Raleigh. Let that sink in for a moment as you realize that Raleigh hosted an NHL All-Star Game in 2011 while they played a Stadium Series game this past February.

Walt Ruff, the Hurricanes' Editorial Content Producer and Team Reporter, posted on Twitter that the details of those two games had been finalized. According to his tweet, "the NHL has committed to bringing another All-Star Game to Raleigh within three years of the renovation being complete" and "will host another Stadium Series Game within five years of completion."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did the Hurricanes and the city of Raleigh just buy two very expensive NHL games in exchange for $300 million in arena renovations? Yes, there is no timeline on the completion of these renovations yet, but we know the NHL has guaranteed both the NHL All-Star Game and a second outdoor game for Raleigh despite that lack of timeline.

Imagine being the Columbus Blue Jackets who just watched their AHL franchise, the Cleveland Monsters, hold a successful outdoor game, and now sees Carolina getting a second one before they've played their first. Or the Stanley Cup finalists in the Florida Panthers who have yet to be considered for one. Or the Tampa Bay Lightning who have played in just one while being one of the elite teams in the NHL for the past decade. Does it make any sense to award Carolina a second game before any of those three teams gets a shot at playing outside or hosting an outdoor game?

Imagine being the Anaheim Ducks or Winnipeg Jets who have never hosted an NHL All-Star Game. Heck, Atlanta has hosted the same number of NHL All-Star Games as Carolina has at this point, yet there are franchises who likely should have hosted more often - Colorado, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota - than the single All-Star Weekend they have hosted to date. Yet there's Carolina getting a second one before any of the five teams mentioned in this paragraph.

While I can't obviously link the renovations to the NHL awarding the Hurricanes these two games, the coincidence is just too real. There are 32 teams who want a chance to host these two money-infusing, economy-boosting events, but it seems the NHL has set its membership up with the idea that one has to spend bundles of money if one wants a chance at making bundles of money.

If the Ducks want to get an All-Star Game and/or a Stadium Series game, all they need to do, it seems, is upgrade the aging Honda Center - built in 1993 - once again. Maybe the NHL will notice them if they do. The same goes for Amalie Arena, built in 1996, and for BB&T Center, built in 1998, if either of Florida's NHL franchises want to host a marquee event.

Ignoring my cynical view on how these games are awarded, congratulations to Carolina Hurricanes fans who may have a whole new experience at PNC Arena by 2044 with the new "retail space and restaurants, offices, a high-end hotel, a 4,000-seat music venue, parking decks and residential space that would include affordable housing" along with a Dundon-owned sportsbook that is reportedly being planned to be developed. Carolina's fanbase has been growing at a steady rate, and they deserve a barn where hockey is fun, entertaining, and exciting.

Most importantly, it's hockey that will be part of the fabric of the North Carolina community for a long, long time with this deal.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!