PNC Arena

This article is about the indoor arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. For the baseball park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, see PNC Park. For the baseball park in Moosic, Pennsylvania, see PNC Field.
"RBC Center" redirects here. For the office tower in Toronto, Ontario, see RBC Centre. For the arena in Sarnia, Ontario, see RBC Centre (Sarnia).
PNC Arena

PNC Arena South Entrance
Former names Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (1999–2002)
RBC Center (2002-2012)
Location 1400 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Coordinates 35°48′12″N 78°43′19″W / 35.80333°N 78.72194°WCoordinates: 35°48′12″N 78°43′19″W / 35.80333°N 78.72194°W
Owner Centennial Authority
Operator Gale Force Sports & Entertainment
Capacity Basketball: 19,722[1]
Ice hockey: 18,680[1]
Concerts: 19,500
Field size 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2)
Surface Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground July 22, 1997
Opened October 29, 1999
Renovated 2004, 2008, 2009
Construction cost $158 million
($224 million in 2015 dollars[2])
Architect Odell Associates, Inc.
Project manager McDevitt Street Bovis, Inc.[1]
Structural engineer Geiger Engineers[3]
General contractor Hensel Phelps Construction Co.[1]
Tenants
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) (1999–present)
NC State Wolfpack (ACC) (Men's Basketball)
Carolina Cobras (AFL) (2000-2002)

PNC Arena[4] (originally Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena and formerly the RBC Center) is an indoor arena, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Arena seats 19,722 for basketball,[1] and 18,680 for ice hockey,[1] including 66 luxury suites and 2,000 club seats. The building has three concourses and includes a 300-seat restaurant.

It is home to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League and the North Carolina State University Wolfpack men's basketball team of NCAA Division I. The arena neighbors Carter–Finley Stadium, home of Wolfpack Football; the North Carolina State Fairgrounds; and Dorton Arena (on the Fairgrounds). The arena also hosted the Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League from 2000 to 2002. It is the third-largest arena in the ACC (after the Carrier Dome and the Dean Smith Center), and the second-largest designed specifically for basketball; and the eighth-largest in the NCAA and the seventh-largest designed for basketball.

History

The idea of a new basketball arena to replace the Wolfpack's longtime home, Reynolds Coliseum, first emerged in the 1980s under the vision of Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano. In 1989, the NCSU Trustees approved plans to build a 23,000 seat arena. The Centennial Authority was created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1995 as the governing entity of the arena, then financed by state appropriation, local contributions, and University fundraising. The Centennial Authority refocused the project into a multi-use arena, leading to the 1997 relocation agreement of the Hurricanes (then the Hartford Whalers). Construction began that year and was completed in 1999 with an estimated cost of $158 million, which was largely publicly financed by a Hotel and Restaurant tax. The Hurricanes agreed to pay $60 million of the cost, and the state of North Carolina paid $18 million. As part of the deal, the Hurricanes assumed operational control of the arena.

Known as the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena or ESA from 1999 to 2002, it was renamed the RBC Center after an extended search for a corporate sponsor. RBC Bank, the US division of the Royal Bank of Canada, acquired 20-year naming rights for a reported $80 million. On June 19, 2011, it was announced that PNC Financial Services bought US assets of RBC Bank and acquired the naming rights to the arena pending approval by the regulatory agencies.[5] On December 15, 2011, it was announced that the Centennial Authority, the landlord of the arena, approved a name change for the facility to PNC Arena.[6] The name change officially took place on March 15, 2012.[7]

Raleigh experienced its first NHL game on October 29, 1999, when the Hurricanes hosted the New Jersey Devils on opening night of the building. On June 19, 2006, the Hurricanes were on home ice for a decisive game seven of the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3–1 to bring the franchise its first Stanley Cup and North Carolina its first major professional sports championship.

On a normal hockey day, PNC Arena has more than 400 people on duty for security and concessions.

In 2008, the arena renovated its sound system. Clair Brothers Systems installed a combination of JBL line arrays to provide improved audio coverage for all events.

In June 2009, video crews installed a new Daktronics HD scoreboard. It replaced the ten-year-old scoreboard that had been in the arena since it opened. The scoreboard is in full LED and is four-sided, whereas the old scoreboard was eight-sided and featured alternating static dot-matrix displays (very much outdated for today's standards) and full color video displays. In addition, it features an octagonal top section with full video capability, along with two rings similar to the ribbon board encircling the bowl of the arena.

In addition to hockey and college basketball, PNC Arena hosts a wide array of concerts, family shows, and other events each year. Past performers include Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Eric Clapton, Taylor Swift, Billy Joel, Justin Timberlake, Elton John, Lady Gaga, One Direction, Celine Dion, George Strait, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, and many other artists. Family shows have included Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Sesame Street Live, Disney On Ice, and the Harlem Globetrotters. It has hosted many notable World Wrestling Entertainment events including SummerSlam 2000, No Mercy 2006 and Over The Limit in 2012.

It hosted the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) men's basketball tournament from 1999–2008, and was a site for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2004, 2008, and 2014 men's NCAA basketball tournaments.

On April 8, 2010, the Hurricanes and the NHL announced that the arena would host the 58th National Hockey League All-Star Game on January 30, 2011.

Notable events

One of the main concourses inside PNC Arena during a Hurricanes game.
An NC State college basketball game at PNC Arena in 2008.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "PNC Arena: Info". Centennial Authority. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  2. ↑ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ "PNC Arena". Geiger Engineers. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  4. ↑ Shaffer, Josh (March 16, 2012). "RBC Center Out; PNC Arena In". The News & Observer (Raleigh: The McClatchy Company). Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ Ranii, David (June 20, 2011). "Goodbye RBC Center". The News & Observer (Raleigh: The McClatchy Company). Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  6. ↑ deBruyn, Jason (January 25, 2012). "RBC Signs Coming Down at RBC Center". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Hurricanes and PNC Bank to Introduce PNC Arena to Community on March 15" (Press release). Centennial Authority. February 23, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2013.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PNC Arena.
Events and tenants
Preceded by
Greensboro Coliseum		 Home of the
Carolina Hurricanes
1999 – present 		Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
none		 Home of the
Carolina Cobras
2000–2002 		Succeeded by
Charlotte Coliseum
Preceded by
Petersen Events Center		 Host of the
Jeopardy! College Championship
2005 		Succeeded by
Galen Center
Preceded by
Bell Centre		 Host of the
NHL All-Star Game
2011 		Succeeded by
Scotiabank Place