Carolina Hurricanes fans arriving Tuesday for a preseason hockey game at a renovated Lenovo Center found an arena different from the one they left after the Canes’ Stanley Cup run a few months ago.
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The lower bowl has new seats, all red, There are fewer aisles and a few extra seats. The third level has wider concourses, new bathrooms and a grab-and-go concession area, along with the View Bar that opened last season.
There are new sound speakers and LED lighting. The WiFi in the arena has been improved.
In Tuesday’s preseason game against Florida, the Hurricanes had an announced crowd of 13,200 at its 3-2 shootout win over the Panthers with Bradly Nadeau scoring the winning goal.
The Canes then returned to their locker room, which has been totally renovated and upgraded, given a more modern look complete with the team logo mounted on the ceiling. An expanded weight room area has also been added.
The arena, opened in 1999, is the home of Hurricanes hockey and N.C. State men’s basketball. It is undergoing $300 million in renovations and enhancements in a project divided into three phases, and was shut down during the summer before reopening for its first event – Rod Wave’s Don’t Look Down Tour – on Sept. 15.
The Hurricanes next take the Lenovo Center ice on Tuesday Sept. 29 for the 2026-27 season opener against the Panthers, with a new capacity for hockey – 18,800 – and a new Stanley Cup championship banner to be raised.
Artist renderings of what a finished arena project could look like have been released by the Centennial Authority, the appointed body that is the arena landlord. Such changes as a new grand entrance way on the south end, expanded team store and restaurant/bar are planned.
“A lot of that will be determined this fall,” authority executive director Jeff Merritt said Tuesday as he bounded about the arena before the hockey game. “The way our financing structure was, we had $100 million and that’s what you’re kind of seeing the end of tonight through the rest of the fall.
“The other $200 million kicked in this past summer. We’re in the planning phases for that. Some time this fall or early next winter our (authority) board will get the final GMP, the guaranteed maximum price to finish the job.”
That’s when decisions will be made and some things might be left out.
“It’s a la carte. We have to fit it in a budget,” Merritt said. “And what the board had asked the design team to do was give us a menu of projects. Let’s say the number is 25. We may be able to afford 19.
“What’s the best use of that money? What gives us the most bang for the buck?”
The $300 million is an appropriation from the hotel and prepared foods tax in Raleigh and Wake County, and the authority also uses money from its capital expenditures fund. The renovation project is separate from the entertainment district being planned adjacent to the arena.
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Some Hurricanes fans have seen and experienced some of the added amenities. On the arena floor level, the expansive Legend Club has been opened. New bunker suites for private viewing are ready to be rented or leased.
On the top level of the arena, a large section of the press box has been replaced by two rows of seats for fans.
Some of what the public can’t see now are improvements that have been made that will benefit the public, Merritt said.
They should enhance the chance of the arena securing more NCAA basketball tournament games — the arena will host an NCAA regional in 2028.
Touring companies, afforded more flex space and dining areas and amenities, could schedule more and different events.
The authority has had market surveys done with Live Nation and AEG. Merritt said, and the improvements made have incorporated some of the requests.
“What we’re hoping to accomplish is to put us even higher on the list of ‘You’ve got to stop here’ or ‘You’ve got to take your event there,’” Merritt said.
“So those are things the fans don’t see, but it matters if you get X-amount more events here through the year. And we’re at about 1.9 million people through the gate this year.”
Before and after events, the work continues. Workers in hard hats patrolled the main concourse Tuesday and others were bolting in some railings along the aisles.
“I think fans still need a little grace, a little patience because we’ve got another two years of this construction work going on,” Merritt said. “The heavy work will begin again next summer and will continue to go through the next couple of seasons.
“The dollars we have are finite but we think we’ve used the dollars to do some cool things.”
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This story was originally published September 24, 2026 at 10:18 AM.