The Centennial Authority board voted Thursday to end its contract with architecture and design firms Ratio Architects and HOK ahead of a planned $300-million renovation project to PNC Arena.
The Centennial Authority, which owns the West Raleigh arena, has worked with Ratio and HOK since 2014. Last summer, the board approved a new contract worth nearly $1 million with the firms, which has delivered several renderings of renovation plans throughout those years.
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The authority will soon seek a new firm and hopes to have it on board by March 1. Philip Isley, the chairman of the board, said the change should not affect the start of the renovation project, slated to begin in the summer of 2025.
Facing higher construction costs and high interest rates, the board scrapped one long-term aspect of those plans: four stories of office space on the north end of the arena, which would have cleared room for other projects on the south end.
The cost of that single project may have totaled about one-quarter of the renovation's entire budget. Its quick removal from the list of ideas sparked some surprise among some board members at a December meeting.
"That's where we hope to get some fresh ideas," said Jeff Merritt, the executive director of the Centennial Authority. "Plan A was the office building. We didn't have a Plan B. Let's get some fresh minds and have a Plan B that is better than Plan A."
Ratio, which has an office in Raleigh, didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the board's decision. Ratio and HOK, a leader in sports facility projects, could again bid for the project.
The complete renovation is expected to take until 2027 or 2028 to complete. The $300 million for the project is coming from a tax on hotel room stays and prepared food and beverages collected by Raleigh and Wake County. That money will be sent to the authority over time, meaning it must go to the bond market to finance the renovation.
The money was contingent on the Carolina Hurricanes signing a long-term lease to stay at the arena and reaching a deal with Hurricanes' owner Tom Dundon to develop land around PNC Arena. All those agreements were announced in August with the Hurricanes agreeing to stay through at least 2044.
All parties are working toward finalizing those contracts, Isley said.
NC State's men's basketball team also plays its home games at PNC Arena, which opened in 1999.
In February, Ratio and HOK presented plans for the renovation to the board.
"There's a whole series of things we can do with this arena," Bill Browne, the president of Ratio, said at the time. "Ultimately, it'll be prioritized and budget driven. We'll have to make decisions, like any project. But what we've tried to do is at least show the opportunities that exist with this building."
New venues around the country, including the Sphere and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, have broadened the possibilities of what arenas can look and feel like.
When Ratio and HOK first began work with the Centennial Authority, sports gambling was not legal across the country, let alone in North Carolina. Technological advances in audio, video and screens as well as in concessions and payment options are changing what fans want and expect, too.
Isley said the board wants to be "wowed" by the proposed ideas, not wanting a three-year renovation project to feel stale when it's completed. The board is using surveys about what fans want, including more space to gather, to help guide its decisions about what projects to select.
"We're planning on enhancing the fan experience," Isley said. "We're charged with making this a community asset. We think that we are going to be able to do that."