Sponsorship & Marketing

PNC extends naming rights to Hurricanes arena

Featured image credit: Bentheswimmer11/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size

Financial services group PNC has agreed an extension to its naming rights deal for the home arena of NHL ice hockey franchise the Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State’s men’s basketball team.

The original 20-year deal between the Hurricanes and RBC Centura Bank, which PNC acquired in 2011, expired at the end of August. However, PNC Bank and the Hurricanes have agreed terms on an extension to the naming rights that will run for at least two years, according to the Charlotte Observer.

The newspaper said the deal was signed off this week by the Centennial Authority, a governing body created by the North Carolina General Assembly that owns PNC Arena. An overall seven-year contract between Gale Force Holdings, parent company of the Hurricanes, and PNC Bank, also includes sponsorship of the previously unbranded club level at the arena.

This seven-year term ties in with the current lease deal between the Centennial Authority and the Hurricanes. In July 2021, the Hurricanes signed off on a five-year lease extension that will see the team occupy PNC Arena until September 30, 2029.

In February, architecture firms Ratio and HOK presented plans for a major renovation project for the arena, which first opened in 1999.

Naming rights revenue for PNC Arena is split between the Hurricanes, N.C. State and the Centennial Authority.