90,000 expected at Lenovo Center as construction starts beneath arena
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — 90,000 people are expected to crowd the Lenovo Center over the next five days, with multiple events scheduled alongside playoff hockey.
'You're seeing Raleigh become a must play market,' said Doug Warf, President of the Carolina Hurricanes and Lenovo Center.
Comedian Shane Gillis will perform Friday night, while Pearl Jam has shows on multiple dates, flanking games three and four of the playoff matchup between the Hurricanes and Capitals.
'The fun part for us is watching people come in, where this is their thing. If you're coming to a comedy show, Pearl Jam concert, hockey game, you are so pumped to be here,' said Warf.
And while 90,000 people pour into the arena, work to improve the site is already underway beneath them.
'We have some pretty big projects going on underneath the building that are making room for storage so then we can do all these awesome things at the ice level,' Warf explained.
It's all part of phase one of a three-pronged plan to renovate the 25-year-old arena, 'We start on the ice level and the 300 level, then we kind of make our way down and out.'
Work on the 300 level is set to start when the Canes season is over, a project Caniacs will be hoping doesn't get underway any time soon.
While parts of the arena will look different when they hit the ice next season, the area surrounding Lenovo Center will also look drastically different in the future.
Last month, the Raleigh City Council approved plans for a $1 billion entertainment district around the home of the Hurricanes and NC State basketball.
'This is going to be the focal point, I think of the state. I think it's easily going to be the focal point of the Triangle, which I think we're the center point of the state, so what I get excited about is this district will be this beautiful focal point in the state of North Carolina, coming from the mountains to the coast,' Warf said.
Work on the entertainment district is expected to take around 15 years.
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