The Carolina Hurricanes received some exciting news last week, regarding the opportunity to continue building an exciting fan-friendly environment within PNC Arena. On June 14th, North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper, passed House Bill 347, which is set to legalize sports wagering within the state in early 2024. The Hurricanes finished the 2022-23 NHL season second in the NHL in home attendance, with an average of 19,526 fans per game. The passing of this bill is an exciting development that should allow the Hurricanes to generate additional revenue within their home arena as they look to build on their impressive attendance numbers from last season.
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Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon joined the Adam Gold Show on ESPN Radio 99.9 The Fan last Wednesday to discuss what the passing of the house bill will mean for the team moving forward.
“We just want to remain competitive, right? We’ve got to have certain streams of revenue that put us in a position to compete. We all want to win, so this is very helpful,” Dundon began. “Now we’ve got to do something good with it.”
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon
Hurricanes’ general manager Don Waddell released a statement shortly after the news broke of the passing of the bill. He mentioned the opportunity to open up a sports-wagering facility around PNC Arena, as well as a restaurant and bar in an effort to continue growing the arena district.
Added Revenue Opportunity
The Hurricanes finished the 2021-22 NHL season 24th in the league in gross revenue producing $159 million. The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings led the NHL that season both generating $249 million in revenue. Due to their smaller market, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the Hurricanes crack the top-5 in NHL revenue, however, this legislative decision will certainly allow them to shoot up the list in coming seasons.
Like Tom Dundon referenced in his interview with Adam Gold, the franchise needs to generate as many revenue streams as possible to remain competitive in the NHL for decades to come. It will be very interesting to see how PNC Arena evolves, and how the Hurricanes plan to take advantage of this opportunity and hopefully climb up the revenue rankings in the near future.
While we don’t have extensive plans on how or where a sportsbook facility could be placed within PNC Arena there is a couple of examples around the NHL that the Hurricanes could model their build after. The Washington Capitals’ home arena, Captial One Arena, became the first ever sports venue to house a sports betting venue in the U.S. in 2021. The William Hill Sportsbook in Capital One Arena is a two-story facility with over 100 televisions that offers fans plenty of ways to place bets and also enjoy the action from the comfort of their seat within the facility.
The Captial One Arena sportsbook facility is open daily all year round to guests and also features a world-class restaurant that offers full-service food and beverage offerings. CEO of Caesars Entertainment(parent company of William Hill), Tom Reeg, spoke about the sports wagering facility before the official opening in 2021.
“With more than 100 televisions, nearly 20 betting windows and a dozen kiosks in the space as well as access to the William Hill mobile app, our guests will enjoy a great gameday watching the Capitals or Wizards at home or wagering on their favorite teams during any game,” said Reeg.
Hurricanes’ Home for Many Years to Come
We received some other news regarding the Hurricanes’ relationship with PNC Arena last week as well. Waddell announced they were working on a 20-year lease with PNC Arena this offseason. The Hurricanes signed a lease extension in 2021 that pushed the end of the contract through the end of the 2029 season.
The most recent extension to the lease agreement in 2021 put the seemingly persistent rumors of relocation to bed, and if the Hurricanes and PNC Arena can agree to a 20-year lease agreement they will cement Raleigh as the home of the Carolina Hurricanes for many decades to come. Coming off a season that saw them finish 2nd in the NHL in average attendance while extending their playoff berth streak to five seasons, things are continuing to trend upward for the Hurricanes.
It will be exciting to watch how the Hurricanes’ front office uses the added advantages created by the passing of House Bill 347 to build upon the momentum the franchise has built in the past five years, with head coach Rod Brind’Amour leading the team.
