Canes’ mixed-use project key for MLB effort

CENTER OF ATTENTION: The Carolina Hurricanes held an open practice for fans on Thursday prior to the official unveiling of Lenovo Center, the rebranded Raleigh, North Carolina arena. (Don Muret/Staff)

‘Scary part’ is getting it right for new district

RALEIGH, North Carolina — The Carolina Hurricanes’ proposed entertainment district next to freshly-rebranded Lenovo Center will play a critical role for fulfilling Tom Dundon’s vision of putting an MLB team in North Carolina’s capital.

Dundon, owner of the NHL team, visited with media after Thursday’s official unveiling of the arena’s new naming-rights partner and marquee. He said the mixed-use project is part of proving to MLB that Raleigh has the critical mass and economic clout to support baseball at the highest level. Dundon has talked publicly about his pursuit of an expansion team, but until MLB commits to adding more teams, it’s all speculation.

Last week, the Hurricanes announced their plan to develop 80 acres surrounding the arena into 500 apartments, a 150-room hotel and a 4,300-capacity live music venue, among other components. Dundon’s real estate firm, Pacific Elm Properties, is financing the potential $1 billion project with Gale Force Sports and Entertainment, parent company of the Hurricanes.

The plan is to start the district’s first phase in December 2025 to build the hotel, apartments and innovative tailgate suites along an expanded plaza to be shared between Hurricanes hockey and North Carolina State men’s basketball, the arena’s other sports tenant.

“The more we all do to improve the economics and the interest in our town — that’s good for everyone and helps with goals like that,” Dundon said. “This project is an important part of this whole process.”

For the team and the developer, it’s important to get the district off on the right foot with the appropriate mix of live, work and play elements to make it a profitable venture.

“The big thing for us is making sure we get the traffic right so people can get in and out of here,” he said. “You’ve got to get this right before you add something else (such as baseball). That’s the scary thing about what we’re doing next, is making sure that once it’s done, you don’t have regrets. You try to learn a little bit from what everyone’s done.”

To this point, Gale Force is going through early preparations in case MLB decides whether to expand, Dundon said.

Then it’s a matter of conducting feasibility studies, searching for potential ballpark sites and determining the cost to build a stadium, and finding the right corporate partners to support the market.

There are no sites under consideration at this point, according to Dundon.

“We need to put a lot of information together to convince ourselves and to convince (MLB) if they decide to expand and this market can handle it,” he said. “The beginning is the math behind it, can we sell enough tickets and sponsorships? Is this market big enough? We have to go find that out first.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper believes Raleigh is big enough to accommodate an MLB franchise. Cooper, also in attendance at the event, said it’s the state’s one missing piece in professional sports.

The fan base is there to support it and a North Carolina team would increase excitement overall in baseball, Cooper said. Cooper, a baseball fan, mentioned that the pitch clock alone has made a significant difference in reducing game times and energizing the sport in general.

One question is whether Raleigh or Charlotte,  a much bigger market with 2.3 million residents in the metropolitan area. Raleigh has 1.6 million people. In the city alone, Charlotte boasts 923,000 population; Raleigh is at 488,000.

Cooper, who steps down as governor after the 2024 elections, weighed in on the two options.

“I’m bullish on Major League Baseball in North Carolina and both markets are great places to be,” he said.

“People I’ve talked with in Charlotte have a lot going on right now with the Hornets, Charlotte FC and the Panthers; but they’ve also made a big investment in (minor league baseball’s) Knights,” Cooper said. “Raleigh is the place that really wants it. When Charlotte decides that they want to make a play for MLB, then anybody who is governor would want to push both of them forward. Raleigh is the place to be right now.”