RBC Center

This article is about the indoor arena in Raleigh, NC. For the office tower in Toronto, Ontario, see RBC Centre.

The RBC Center (originally Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena) is an indoor arena, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The arena seats 19,722, for basketball or 18,176, for ice hockey, including 66 luxury suites and 2,000 club seats. The building has three concourses and includes a 500-seat restaurant.

The arena neighbors Carter–Finley Stadium, home of Wolfpack Football; the North Carolina State Fairgrounds; and Dorton Arena (on the Fairgrounds).

It is home to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League and the North Carolina State University Wolfpack men's basketball team of NCAA Division I.

The arena also hosted the Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League from 2000 to 2002.

It is the second largest arena in the ACC and the tenth-largest in the NCAA.

History

The idea of a new basketball arena first emerged in the 1980s under the vision of Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano. In 1989, the NCSU Trustees approved plans to build a 23,000 seat arena. The Centennial Authority was created by the NC Legislature in 1995 as the governing entity of the arena, then financed by state appropriation, local contributions, and University fundraising. The Centennial Authority refocused the project into a multi-use arena, leading to the 1997 relocation agreement of the Hurricanes (then the Hartford Whalers). Construction began that year and was completed in 1999 with...
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