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The new Red Hat Amphitheater remains on track to open in the spring of 2027, with a sea of corporate and city officials gathering Tuesday to mark a construction milestone.
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The new amphitheater, across Lenoir Street from the existing Red Hat Amphitheater downtown, should be open for the 2027 concert season, and the current one will finish out the 2026 season before closing.
On Tuesday, officials gathered to sign a red, steel beam as part of a ceremonial “topping out” of the steel frame of the stage for the new venue.
The amphitheater is moving at a projected cost of $40 million so that the Raleigh Convention Center, directly across South McDowell Street from the current amphitheater, can expand.
Once the amphitheater moves, construction will begin to give the convention center another 300,000 square feet and add two new walking bridges that will connect to the current building, The News & Observer previously reported.
Raleigh City Councilwoman Jane Harrison said that in 2025, the current amphitheater attracted nearly 500,000 attendees, bringing in $30 million in economic impact.
Having a space like the amphitheater attracts business for restaurants, bars, hotels and stores.
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“We have seen sales double on concert nights for all of these local businesses,” Harrison said.
The current Red Hat has a capacity of just under 6,000. It’s not yet clear what the exact capacity of the new amphitheater will be, according to Kerry Painter, executive director of the Raleigh Convention Center. The convention center and the amphitheater are owned by the city, and the convention center manages the amphitheater.
The city’s site plans for the amphitheater simply call for a capacity of “6,000+.”
However, in March, CBS17 reported Painter saying that the new venue would have 200 less seats than expected.
In an email on Tuesday, Painter wrote in an email to The News & Observer that “We are still finalizing the bowl as [concrete] gets poured and seating aligned. Nothing has yet confirmed different.”
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“Bowl” refers to the concave main seating area of the amphitheater.
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 3:15 PM.