Images: Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have offered an insight into what a revamped Lenovo Center will look like, as work prepares to commence on the first phase of upgrades to the arena.
The update provided by the NHL franchise relates to renovations intended to be ready for the 2025-26 season, including new imagery of the Lenovo Legend Club, the new arena-level bunker suites, and the 300-level view bar.
At ice level, the renovations are highlighted by the addition of the Lenovo Legend Club – a luxurious space below the South stands that will feature the arena’s most premium food and beverage offerings.
Access to the Lenovo Legend Club will include all-you-can-eat food stations and a full-service bar and will be exclusive to fans with seats in the first and second rows off the ice, as well as rows C through E sections 101, 128, 127, 126, 125 and 122 on the South end, and bunker suite ticket holders.
Adjacent to the club will be a limited number of bunker suites, becoming the new standard for premium hospitality at the Lenovo Center. Offering an opportunity to entertain clients and families in private lounges just steps from the ice, bunker suites combine the luxury of a traditional premium suite with seats a few rows off the glass.
The suites will feature oversized monitors that display an exclusive feed from 8k cameras with a live look at what is happening on the ice at all times. Because the suites do not have a direct view of the ice, bunker ticket holders will have seats in the first few rows of the lower bowl around the corner from their suites, as well as access to the Lenovo Legend Club.
The 300 level of Lenovo Center will see its first significant changes since the arena opened in 1999, highlighted by the state-of-the-art View Bar. A food and beverage gathering space with a direct view of the ice, the View Bar will replace seating sections 317-319 and be open to all fans. In addition to the bar, a new grab-and-go concession space will enhance options for 300-level seat holders, and all restrooms will receive a complete refresh.
Brian Fork, CEO of Hurricanes Holdings, said: “As we begin construction on the arena renovation this week, we’re grateful to have partners in the Centennial Authority and NC State who are determined to make the Lenovo Center the premiere sports and entertainment venue in our region – a jewel that our fans and everyone in the Triangle can be proud of.”
Major development is set to take place both inside and outside Lenovo Center. In August, Hurricanes fans were given their first glimpse of what the venue, then known as PNC Arena, will look like following a $300m (£234m/€280.1m) revamp.
The team’s arena renovation is to be funded by the local authority as part of a wider agreement that saw the Hurricanes agree a 20-year lease extension with the City of Raleigh in August 2023.
In September, the Hurricanes released the first renderings of the Raleigh Sports & Entertainment District, a planned $1bn mixed-use development surrounding its home arena.
The plans, which are being led by Pacific Elm Properties and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment, call for the redevelopment of an 80-acre site near the arena and Carter-Finley Stadium. The latter venue serves as the home of North Carolina State University’s American football team.
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