NHL Stadium Series outdoor hockey game brought serious money to Triangle, report says

The Carolina Hurricanes gained some national and international visibility when it hosted the 2023 NHL Stadium Series game at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium last month.

The event, attended by 57,000 people, also added some serious cash to local coffers.

The Feb. 18 game between the Hurricanes and Washington Capitals generated $13.6 million in total economic impact, according to figures released Wednesday by Visit Raleigh.

“We could not be prouder of the efforts of so many people in putting on an unforgettable week and weekend in Raleigh,” Hurricanes Chief Marketing Officer Mike Forman said in a news release. “The Carolina Hurricanes brand was on full display to national and global audiences to rave reviews from those who attended the week’s events or tuned in from afar.”

The full NHL Stadium Series weekend generated $20.1 million in total economic impact, Visit Raleigh reported. For statistical reporting purposes, that included the Hurricanes’ home game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Hurricanes FanFest and the Hootie & the Blowfish concert on Friday, the Stadium Series game and NHL PreGame official fan festival on Saturday, and the men’s basketball game between UNC and NC State on Sunday.

“The NHL Stadium Series provided an incredible economic boost to our region,” Dennis Edwards, President & CEO of Visit Raleigh, said in the release. “Raleigh was buzzing with activity throughout the entire weekend.”

A return event?

Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon and GM Don Waddell have already said publicly they’re hoping to attract more events like the Stadium Series to Raleigh, and the sooner the better.

“An outdoor game every five years is what we’re talking about,” Waddell told The News & Observer in the days following the event. “The Draft and the All-Star Game are great, but we’d like to get back into that, where the league makes a commitment to us every five years or something like that.”

Such a commitment could be predicated on the city, county, PNC Arena authority and N.C. State all allowing Dundon to develop the 80 acres surrounding the arena, a project that is currently being discussed on a parallel track with the proposed renovations to the arena itself.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been a strong advocate for upgrades inside and outside the arena, and he’s dangled rewards in front of the Hurricanes before.

In 2001, Bettman promised the Hurricanes an All-Star Game if the team met ticket-sales targets that spring. The successful campaign led directly to the 2011 All-Star Game at PNC, a rousing success that at the time cemented the Triangle’s status as a model non-traditional NHL market. The playoff drought that followed called that into question, until the team’s recent on-ice success and the Stadium Series game once again removed all doubt.

“This is different,” Bettman told the N&O before the game. “This is bigger.”

“We’re the best outdoor game market, at Carter-Finley,” Dundon told the N&O. “I think that’s what we all learned from that. Do the All-Star Game in Miami or Las Vegas, where the players want to go. But there’s no other market that has people tailgating all day long and has a perfect stadium right in their parking lot. This is what we are. It’s the perfect product for this market.”

Columnist Luke DeCock and Deputy Regional Sports Editor Justin Pelletier contributed to this story.

NHL Stadium Series success in Raleigh may open new (out)doors for Carolina Hurricanes