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Carolina Hurricanes Sign Big 20-Year Extension With PNC Arena

By Richard Jelinek

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 20: A security dog is walked outside the arena prior to in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on May 20, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 20: A security dog is walked outside the arena prior to in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on May 20, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The Carolina Hurricanes will be staying at PNC Arena until the 2043/2044 season thanks to a massive extension. The deal, priced at $800 million, includes renovations to the arena and new projects to take place at a date to yet be determined.

Carolina Hurricanes make PNC Arena home for the next 20 years

The term of the deal is a 20-year lease extension with Centennial Authority, owners of PNC Arena, until the 2043/2044 season. The extension also includes a $300 million investment from the city of Raleigh and Wake County. The lease extension will make the city of Raleigh look a bit different as it will include the development is a transformational sports and entertainment district, while also making public gathering spaces around the arena.

This is exciting news for the Canes hockey team, Wake County, and the city of Raleigh. However, one has to wonder  how much attention other NHL teams are paying to this. Does this news, and extension, create options for NHL teams in the future? Will teams across the league now opt for an extension and renovation route instead of a new, multi-million dollar arena? This may make sense as it would be cheaper for teams to improve the arena instead of going months building a state-of-the-art arena. Madison Square Garden has been around for many years and they have made renovations to keep the arena one that people want to come back to.

The Carolina Hurricanes burst onto the NHL scene in 1999 after a relocation from Hartford, Connecticut as the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes. PNC Arena has been good to the Canes since their first season in Raleigh. The Hurricanes hosted the 2004 NHL Draft, won the Stanley Cup in 2006, and hosted the NHL All-Star game in 2011.

Carolina has one of the older buildings in the NHL, as many of the other arenas across the league are brand new or newer. Carolina became the Hurricanes in 1997 but moved into the PNC Arena in 1999. The oldest arena in the league is Madison Square Garden, home of the Rangers. The newest? Mullet Arena, home of the Pheonix Coyotes, which opened in 2022.

The Hurricanes have a development camp and training camp right around the corner, followed by the 2023/2024 NHL season. This extension has to be a sense of relief so the organization can now fully concentrate on the season itself.

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