“This is a historic five-day stretch,” says Doug Warf, who, as president of Hurricanes Holdings LLC, oversees business operations for Lenovo Center in Raleigh. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever had anything like this where there’s five straight days of big sellouts.”

• Comedian Shane Gillis – lead in a Netflix series, star of Super Bowl commercials, host of “Saturday Night Live” — plays Lenovo Center on Friday night.

• The Carolina Hurricanes host Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. 

• Then it’s rock band Pearl Jam on Sunday night.

• Back to the Hurricanes-Capitals for Game 4 on Monday night.

• And back to Pearl Jam on Tuesday night.

It is a lot of work turning the arena from comedy stage to hockey rink to elaborate music venue to hockey rink to music venue.

Each night, the work begins as soon as one event ends, even before fans are out of the arena, and, if all goes well, should be completed as the sun is rising to allow for concert walk-throughs and morning skates.

“You pray for regulation finishes, regulation games, wins and happy fans,” Warf said.

Including Tuesday’s Linkin Park concert, more than 100,000 fans are expected to attend an event at the Lenovo Center this week. The arena typically hosts more than 1.5 million people each year.

The Hurricanes, which operate the arena, have been aggressive about pursuing bigger acts – even when they expect the hockey team to be in the playoffs. Carolina has reached the playoffs seven consecutive seasons and has won at least one series in each of those years.

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“We have to have kind of close conversations with both the NHL and these tour promoters, which is something a lot of big markets do all the time,” Warf said. “It’s something we are excited to continue to do.”

The Stanley Cup Final is played in June, and last year’s seven-game series ran from June 8 to June 24. Lenovo Center is set to host Wu-Tang Clan on June 7 and Lil Baby on June 15.

Other NHL arenas book even more aggressively. Warf pointed to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which he said hosts events more than 300 days per year.

Lenovo Center hosted about 160 events last year, a record for the 26-year-old arena. It will host more this year.

“Our goal is to just keep breaking that record year after year,” Warf said.

Other NHL arenas are booked throughout the year, and some teams share venues with NBA teams. The sports have overlapping playoffs. Madison Square Garden in New York City, for example, is home to the NBA’s Knicks and the NHL’s Rangers. The arena is often booked for back-to-back playoff games, alternating ice and hardwood.

The Hurricanes have plans to develop up to 80 acres around the arena over the next 15 years. The Raleigh City Council recently approved the rezoning of the area around the venue, which will pave the way for bars, restaurants, a 4,500-seat music venue, a hotel and apartments or condos.

“We’re a must-play market,” Warf said. “As our market has matured, people have started to see they’ve got to play here when they’re coming through the Southeast.”

And the Hurricanes have been aggressive in trying to attract those performers. It’s part of a focused effort.

“Tom Dundon (owner of the Hurricanes) has put an effort into this,” Warf said. “We’ve built out a team that goes after shows. So we have more people who are trying to land shows, and then we’ve built out a team that works with tours when they come through. We want people that come here to be happy, so we’ve got a great team that works with the tours as they come in and leave.”

The Hurricanes and the NC State men’s basketball team are the primary tenants at the Lenovo Center. The Hurricanes have 41 home games each regular season, plus a couple of preseason games. NC State plays 15 to 20 home games. Their seasons overlap from late October through the beginning of March, but that leave lots of open dates — dates Warf and his team are looking to fill with high-profile events.

Source: wral.com