{"id":4764,"date":"2026-07-16T17:03:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:03:52","slug":"remembering-steve-stroud-big-picture-thinker-who-made-things-happen-in-raleigh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those who knew Steve Stroud best often used the same three words in describing him: larger than life.<\/p>\n

Read more Grab the popcorn: These new movies and TV shows were filmed in NC<\/a><\/p>\n

Stroud, who died July 11 at 83, had that kind of presence. Wearing his ever-present bolo tie and boots, with a broad chest and stern gaze, gruff at times if need be, he was always uncompromising on the issues important to him:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou only had to say \u2018Stroud\u2019 and everybody knew who you were talking about,\u201d said Harvey Schmitt, former president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. \u201cHe was a big-picture thinker who always encouraged big-picture thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a much larger vision of what Raleigh could be. He saw a future that we\u2019re now enjoying that other people had a hard time imagining.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stroud founded one of the area\u2019s leading commercial real-estate firms in NAI Carolantic Realty in 1972. He had a keen acumen for business and a deep passion for Wolfpack athletics, having attended NCSU in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

Stroud first chaired the Centennial Authority, which was created in 1995 by the General Assembly with the mandate of designing and constructing an arena adjacent to N.C. State\u2019s Carter-Finley Stadium. The authority, then with 19 appointed members, would oversee the financing and operation of the arena.<\/p>\n

Stroud, as authority chairman, was the point man, determined to replace NCSU\u2019s Reynolds Coliseum with a new, large multipurpose arena that could serve the community much as Reynolds did for 50 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had that sharp business mind, was high intelligent and was great in working behind the scenes,\u201d said Bobby Purcell, who served as executive director of NCSU\u2019s Wolfpack Club for 33 years. \u201cAnd when he made up his mind to do something, he was going to get it done and run over anybody or anything that got in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purcell, who retired in 2020, recalls former Pack football coach Dick Sheridan first meeting Stroud at a luncheon at Amedeo\u2019s near campus in 1986.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe order our food,\u201d Purcell said, \u201cand coach asked Steve, \u2018Tell us a little bit about yourself.\u2019 Steve leaned halfway across the table, looked Coach Sheridan dead in the eye and said, \u2018I ain\u2019t scared of anybody or anything<\/i>.\u2019 They became best friends after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stroud was on hand to cheer the Pack to its improbable NCAA basketball title in 1983. He was a fervent supporter of Wolfpack football and the Pack\u2019s baseball program, becoming close friends with longtime coach Elliott Avent, who recently retired after 30 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe man was an icon,\u201d Avent said last week. \u201cHe was a very giving man. He did so much for our city, our university, just giving, giving, giving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stroud reveled in the Hurricanes\u2019 Stanley Cup championships, first in 2006 and then again in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I became a huge<\/i> ice hockey fan,\u201d Stroud, a Rutherford County native, once said, his eyes twinkling as he spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201dPeople once were shaking their heads about hockey and wondering how this thing would work in the South,\u201d Avent said. \u201cThe naysayers were many. Now, we have two Stanley Cup championships, and it has really put Raleigh on the map as much as anything that has happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Steve Stroud is greatly responsible for that. It was his determination, and his doggedness to make this thing happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stroud worked closely with Schmitt in spearheading the effort to land a hockey team for the arena.<\/p>\n

Read more Cyclosporiasis cases in Wake Co. continue to rise amid nationwide outbreak<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe needed to find another occupant of the building that would fill some nights, so he could make a stronger case in the legislature, and they would give the money needed to put the deal together to build the building for NC State,\u201d Schmitt said \u201cThe legislature was pressing to have enough business in the building that it would pay for itself and be worth the investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmitt said Stroud first \u201cdispatched\u201d him to the 1996 American Hockey League All-Star Classic in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Schmitt said the goal was to begin preliminary discussions about possibly moving the St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland, AHL team to Raleigh, but the focus soon turned to bigger things.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got up every morning thinking about how to make the deal work,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cThere were a lot of moving parts, and he did a very good job of marshalling a broad base of players to make the project a success. All of it was predicated on building a building for NC State. Hockey just fell into the conversation and became a big deal over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat arena doesn\u2019t get built without him. He was the driving force and drove it in the right way, always thinking about what was in the best interests of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing an NHL expansion team soon entered the conversation. An expansion bid was submitted to the league in the fall of 1996 by a potential ownership group fronted by Felix Sabates of Charlotte, a NASCAR team owner who had been an early investor in the Charlotte Hornets.<\/p>\n

\u201cStroud first met Felix at a boat show in Miami,\u201d Schmitt said, laughing. \u201cThey had a conversation. Stroud calls me up and says \u2018We\u2019ve got an owner willing to put up the money and I want you to fill him in on the details.\u2019 Felix was our guy and Stroud made it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sabates group made an official expansion presentation to the NHL executive committee in New York, but constant haggling over the cost, size and funding of the new arena eventually led the Sabates group to withdraw the bid in February 1997.<\/p>\n

Enter Peter Karmanos Jr.<\/p>\n

Karmanos owned the Hartford Whalers but was looking to move the team. He was in the room in New York when the Sabates group made its pricey presentation. He liked what he heard about the market, liked the possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe paved the way for him,\u201d Sabates later said, half in jest.<\/p>\n

The Whalers relocated to the state and after two years playing in the Greensboro Coliseum, the Hurricanes moved into their newly opened home in October 1999 \u2014 then the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The Canes had the inaugural game in the arena and the Pack played its first men\u2019s basketball game the next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve was the primary negotiator of putting Humpty Dumpty together,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cI always felt the authority did everything possible to make as good a deal for the community as possible. That is, the building was going to pay for itself and not be a drag on the taxpayer. It was fiscally sound from the get-go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stroud would later step down as chairman of the authority, although staying on as a member for several more years, staying active. In recent years, he was unable to attend as many games as he would have liked.<\/p>\n

Always a Wolfpack fan, he turned down invitations to see the Pack play hoops at North Carolina, friends saying he once quipped, \u201cI might die over there and the last thing I\u2019d want is for my obituary to say I died in Chapel Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canes now play before sellout crowds every home game at Lenovo Center. They sold out the arena for a watch party for the Canes\u2019 road games in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n

The arena is undergoing a $300 million enhancement and renovation. Canes owner Tom Dundon, who bought the team from Karmanos, plans to build an entertainment district outside the arena, surrounded by E. Stephen Stroud Way and Peter Karmanos Jr. Drive.<\/p>\n

A small family funeral service is planned later this month in Ellenboro. A Celebration of Life for Stroud open to the public will be held in September or October \u2014 fittingly at the arena.<\/p>\n

Read more MLB’s Mookie Betts Shares How Becoming a Girl Dad Made Him ‘Soft and Squishy’<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remembering Steve Stroud, a Raleigh real-estate leader whose vision built the Lenovo Center, boosted NC State sports and paved the way for the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nRemembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Remembering Steve Stroud, a Raleigh real-estate leader whose vision built the Lenovo Center, boosted NC State sports and paved the way for the Hurricanes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T17:03:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T17:03:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764\"},\"wordCount\":1322,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764\",\"name\":\"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T17:03:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Hartford Whalers owner Peter Karmanos (center) reacts to a joke by Steve Stroud (podium) about a Stanley Cup playoff game being held soon in the new arena during 1997 ceremonies announcing that the Whalers will move to Raleigh. From left: Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives Harold Brubaker, Governor Jim Hunt, Karmanos, and Stroud.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=4764#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"Remembering Steve Stroud, a Raleigh real-estate leader whose vision built the Lenovo Center, boosted NC State sports and paved the way for the Hurricanes.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-07-16T17:03:52+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh","datePublished":"2026-07-16T17:03:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764"},"wordCount":1322,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764","name":"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-16T17:03:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d253b1d58bc687d3484e8666b0369cf2.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Hartford Whalers owner Peter Karmanos (center) reacts to a joke by Steve Stroud (podium) about a Stanley Cup playoff game being held soon in the new arena during 1997 ceremonies announcing that the Whalers will move to Raleigh. From left: Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives Harold Brubaker, Governor Jim Hunt, Karmanos, and Stroud."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4764#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Remembering Steve Stroud, big-picture thinker who made things happen in Raleigh"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}