Video game offers hint at new name for home of Hurricanes, which won’t be PNC Arena :: WRALSportsFan.com
The stadium home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State men’s basketball won’t be known as PNC Arena any longer.
A new video game offers a clue as to what the arena could be called moving forward.
The signage on the outside of the arena was being taken down Monday, and the Centennial Authority — which owns the arena — has scheduled a special meeting Thursday to approve a contract with a new partner for naming rights.
PNC Bank will sponsor the arena’s PNC Victory Club, formerly known as the Champions Club, and the PNC Club Level, the Hurricanes announced Monday. PNC had previously extended its naming rights deal to cover the 2022-23 season and 2023-24 season, while signing a seven-year agreement for area’s inside the venue, such as the champions club.
The team made no mention of PNC holding the naming rights for the arena, which is has held since 2012.
“They have chosen to remain a significant sponsor with a very prominent presence,” Doug Warf, the president of Hurricanes Holdings, told WRAL.
Warf said the team could have more news later in the week, but is “focusing on PNC and all they’ve done for the Hurricanes and the arena.”
The arena was called the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (or ESA) from its 1999 opening until 2002. It was called the RBC Center, for RBC Bank, from 2002 until 2012. PNC Financial Services acquired the assets of RBC Bank in 2012, and the arena has been known as PNC Arena since.
A trailer video for EA Sports’ NHL 25 video game offers a hint: Lenovo Center. The video shows a brief glimpse of the Hurricanes hosting Ottawa at home and center ice says “Lenovo Center.”
Lenovo, a global personal computer maker, has a corporate headquarters in Morrsiville, which is located less than 14 miles from the current PNC Arena.
The video game is currently available for pre-order.
The arena is set to begin a $300-million renovation project in the summer of 2025.
Source: wralsportsfan.com