Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon and NC Governor Roy Cooper spoke with the media at the official rebranding ceremony of the Lenovo Center.
The Carolina Hurricanes will officially be playing their games in the Lenovo Center for the next 10 years as the official renaming ceremony was held yesterday, Sept. 19.
Following the expiration of PNC Banks' 20-year naming rights contract, the Canes searched far and wide for the right replacement and after much negotiating Lenovo took the crown.
"I don't spend a lot of time on those things, but they were clearly the best option," said Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon. "We've been working on this deal for quite a while, but there aren't many worldwide brands like this that you get to partner with. There were other things that were discussed, but nothing else was ever at this level."
Lenovo paid $60 million to have naming rights to the arena and having such a global brand sponsoring the arena will only help in the growth of the area.
"Sports often brings money to the pockets of North Carolina families and we know that the Hurricanes have been successful here and we know that it has helped put North Carolina on the map," said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. "Now, when you expand to have a local company like Lenovo, that already has a few thousand people here, and this additional development around the Lenovo Center, I think this will be a place to be. Not only are you going to see Hurricanes and Wolfpack games, but also concerts, big events and it's going to be a center of attention. This is the right move and an exciting time for our state."
The right corporate sponsors can play a big role in attracting other businesses to either join in or bring their business to the area, so having a Fortune Global 500 company like Lenovo, who is also one of the largest employers in the region, with an estimated $1.5 billion economic and fiscal impact in North Carolina each year, could mean even better things for the arena and surrounding area in the future.
"To get a big brand to be a partner with us and with NC State, it's a privilege and we're really fortunate," Dundon said. "The whole part of this business is engagement and to get people involved. Having something where a company of this size and this kind of success puts their name on our building, it's a privilege."
The renaming also comes on the heels of the announcement of a $1 billion mixed-use development project to be constructed in the area around the arena.
Dundon and company plan to transform the 80-acre site into a must-go destination with offerings of shopping, dining and year-round entertainment to also supplement those big game days.
"When you drive up, other than the game, there's no reason to be excited," Dundon said about the current surrounding area. "It'd be great if you thought about this area, the Lenovo Center and the things around it, and it was interesting. I think more than anything, it's about how do we make this experience more interesting other than when we win a game or when NC State wins a game."
Dundon also said that he's not trying to necessarily imitate any other particular mixed-use development around the league with the new project because every area is different.
"I look less at specific arenas and more so just what works in areas," Dundon said. "What's the right mix of office and retail to restaurants and bars? What works here? And we've been through a lot of iterations to try and figure that out.
"The hard part is making sure you do it right so people think to come here. That's the scary thing about what we're doing next. Just making sure that once it's done you don't have regrets. You just try to learn a little bit from everyone. There's nobody that has what's here. It's not always going to be apples to apples with what someone else has done versus what we're going to do. "
"I think the economic impact on the entire state will be significant," Cooper said. "The growth in our urban areas has helped improve our tax base and it's helped bring businesses to our state that often have located in more rural or suburban areas of our state. Also the fact that we are the third fastest growing state in the country, that our jobs are continuing to increase. People look at overall quality of life when they decide where they want to live and part of that quality of life is things to do. Sports and entertainment. And to have a quality NHL team like that here, to have amazing college sports like we do, I think that's going to be a real draw for us."
The two even touched on what this sort of impact could mean for a potential MLB expansion bid.
"I think the more we all do collectively to improve the economics and number of people with interest in our town, I think that's good for everyone and it helps with goals like that," Dundon said. "I think this is an important part of the process."
But even past all the various economic impacts for the team and area, perhaps the biggest takeaway from the availabilities yesterday, was what Dundon characterized as the "biggest" priority.
"The big thing for us here is making sure that we get the traffic right so people can get in and out of here."
And I'm sure that statement is music to a lot of Caniacs' ears.
The full transcript from Cooper and Dundon's pressers can be found below:
Governor Roy Cooper
On the Lenovo partnership/investment: Sports often brings money to the pockets of North Carolina families and we know that the Hurricanes have been successful here and we know that it has helped put North Carolina on the map. Now, when you expand to have a local company like Lenovo, that already has a few thousand people here, and with this additional development around the Lenovo Center, I think this will be a place to be. Not only are you going to see Hurricanes and Wolfpack games, but also concerts, big events and it's going to be a center of attention. This is the right move and an exciting time for our state.
On how the success of the team helps the economic impact: I've been a Hurricanes fan for decades and I'm a fan through thick and thin. A lot of people aren't fans through thick and thin. I remember talking with Tom Dundon and... I appreciate the fact that he's been willing to come in and invest in this team and to meet the salary cap. The first couple years we didn't do so well and he's like, 'Will the people come? Are they going to come?' and I said, 'Yes, they'll come. You just have to do one thing?' 'What's that?' 'Win. You gotta win.' They've done that and the people have come and this is the loudest house in the NHL when we're doing well, when people show up and I think this Lenovo naming lifts this up even more as a destination place. A lot of people are going to want to put Raleigh on their schedule. A lot of people go around the country and go to NHL games and I think this will be a place that people will want to go and they'll find out, 'Hey this is a great place to be. Maybe I'll come back and start my business here.'
On the potential impact of the surrounding development: I think the economic impact on the entire state will be significant. The growth in our urban areas has helped improve our tax base, it's helped bring businesses to our state that often have located in more rural or suburban areas of our state. Also the fact that we are the third fastest growing state in the country, that our jobs are continuing to increase. People look at overall quality of life when they decide where they want to live and part of that quality of life is things to do. Sports and entertainment. And to have a quality NHL team like that here, to have amazing college sports like we do, I think that's going to be a real draw for us. And maybe for MLB too.
On the prospect of NC earning an MLB team: I'm bullish on MLB. That's our one missing piece in professional sports. I think the fanbase is here to support it and I think the pitch clock has made a significant difference in its watchability too. I'm a baseball fan anyway, so I didn't need it, but a lot of people do need it and I think it's going to increase the excitement in baseball and I think this would be a great place to get it started.
On if Raleigh is a better spot for MLB than Charlotte: Both of them are great places to be. The people I've talked with in Charlotte have a lot going on. Not only do you have the Hornets and soccer with Charlotte FC, they have the Panthers, but also they've made a big investment in the Knights there. So I think Raleigh is the place that really wants it. When Charlotte decides they really want to make a play for the MLB, then I think anybody who is governor is going to want to push both of those forward, but I think Raleigh is the place that's really going to get it done.
Tom Dundon
On the Lenovo partnership: To get a big brand to be a partner with us and with NC State, it's a privilege and we're really fortunate. The whole part of this business is engagement and to get people involved. Having something where a company of this size and this kind of success puts their name on our building, it's a privilege.
On if landing a sponsor like Lenovo raises the chances of landing an MLB team: I think the more we all do collectively to improve the economics and number of people with interest in our town, I think that's good for everyone and it helps with goals like that. I think this is an important part of the process.
On the upcoming development project: I think it's more just, when you drive up, other than the game, there's no reason to be excited. It'd be great if you thought about this area, the Lenovo Center and the things around it, and it was interesting. I think more than anything, it's about how do we make this experience more interesting other than when we win a game or when NC State wins a game.
On if he thought something like this would have been possible when he first acquired the team: I think my first thought when I walked up was, 'That's a really big parking lot,' and that's not really the way the world's moved. It's moving towards what we're about to do. One of the first things I was told was that that was always the plan. Since they got here, the plan was to do something. So I don't think this has much to do with me as much as it was the way it was going to be someday. I just probably thought it could move a bit faster if anything. I'm just relieved that we can get started.
On how he feels new GM Eric Tulsky has done: Look, you don't know until you start playing, because everyone thinks they're going to win. So we don't know until it's over, but I think we're in pretty good shape.
On if he's taken inspiration from other mixed-use developments around the league: It's not really the NHL teams and it's not just mixed-use districts around the league, it's just in general. The hard part is making sure you do it right so people think to come here. That's the scary thing about what we're doing next. Just making sure that once it's done you don't have regrets. But you try to learn a little bit from everyone. There's nobody that has what's here. It's not always going to be apples to apples with what someone else has done versus what we're going to do.
On how he's approaching the development: I look less at specific arenas and more so just what works in areas. What's the right mix of office and retail to restaurants and bars? What works here? And we've been through a lot of iterations to try and figure that out.
On the current status of a potential MLB expansion pitch: What we're doing is preparing just in case they decide they're going to start that process. So we're doing feasibility studies and looking at places for a stadium and what's that cost? Where do you find a corporate sponsors to make sure that the market can handle it and prove to baseball that what we think is real. So we have to put a lot of information together to convince ourselves and then to convince them if they decide to expand that this market can handle that.
On if downtown would be an option for baseball: I have no idea. Honestly, I don't think we're anywhere close to that part of the process. The commitment is that you're going to look at everything just like anybody would do. So I don't know what's best and part of it is how it goes around here in the next little bit. The big thing for us here is making sure that we get the traffic right so people can get in and out of here. So you have to get this right first before you add. We're not going to add something else until we get this part right, but I wouldn't have... there's a lot of people that know way more about what works around here in terms of putting a stadium. And I sort of think that's toward the end of the process. The beginning of it is what is the math behind it: Do we have enough sell enough tickets, get enough sponsorship, is this market big enough? We have to go and find that out first.
On if there were others in the running alongside Lenovo for the naming rights: I don't spend a lot of time on those things, but they were clearly the best option. We've been working on this deal for quite a while, but as we've talked about, there aren't many worldwide brands like this that you get to partner with. There were other things that were discussed, but nothing was ever at this level.
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