The University’s relationship with the RBC Center will continue after the Carolina Hurricanes renewed its lease with the Centennial Authority through 2024.
According to Ray Rouse, the chairman of the Centennial Authority — the public agency that owns RBC, the new lease agreement will include several improvements that will directly impact the 2008 men’s basketball season.
“This agreement between Raleigh, Wake County, N.C. State and the Hurricanes basically added money to our capital improvements plan, which benefits all tenants,” Rouse said. “The bottom line is that the impact will be very positive.”
N.C. State fans and students will notice improvements in and around the center, with new paved areas in the parking lot and several upgrades within the facility that Rouse said should help the overall fan experience.
Two enhancements that will be finished for 2008 include improvements to the sound system and the implementation of a point of sale system at concession stands, allowing purchases to be made with a credit card.
“We want this arena to be modern 10 to 15 years from now as well as today,” Rouse said.
Senior Associate Athletics Director David Horning echoed Rouse’s sentiment and said he hopes that the lease extension can help all NCSU fans have the best experience possible while at the RBC Center.
“These improvements are all for a greater and more comfortable experience for the fan,” Horning said. “All the new improvements are going to be essential to keeping up with the top ranked facilities across the country.”
Horning also said he feels like the improvements coincide perfectly with the growing reality that college and professional sporting events have become more popular.
“Sporting events had become just that, events as opposed to just games,” he said. “Fans can come early, enjoy the amenities of the RBC Center and go to a contest that is a great experience.”
Student Body President Jay Dawkins, who has been pushing for ticketing changes to make the basketball game experience more exciting for students, said the improvements to the RBC Center will further help what he sees as an already impressive facility.
“I think those improvements will definitely help, but the exciting thing is that we have a world class facility already,” Dawkins said. “We have a great facility and obviously that is a huge advantage for N.C. State.”
The recently renewed lease and plans for improvements result, according to Rouse, from increased revenue throughout the last year which allows more money to be available for upgrades.
“We are hopeful that the agreement will always be as good as it can possibly be because we have additional funds to pay for improvements,” Rouse said.
Rouse said the extended lease agreements between NCSU, the Hurricanes ownership and the RBC Center would not have happened without extensive cooperation.
The lease agreement, which involves city and county officials along with the Hurricanes ownership and NCSU, is an agreement that Rouse said is something that can continue to evolve and improve in order to serve the community.
“It is so important for the partners to work together to make the relationships even stronger,” he said. “N.C. State was definitely a major player in making this agreement happen.”