The Raleigh Convention Center hosted the Halo Championship Series esports event in 2021.David Kuhn
Résumé: Annual events include the Carolina Blue Cup team handball tournament (since 1990) and NCAA Division II Baseball Championship at the USA Baseball National Training Complex (since 2009). Other recent events: 2019 NWSL Final; 2023 and 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships; 2023 and 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Final Four; 2023 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships; 2023 NHL Stadium Series; and 2023 and 2024 The Soccer Tournament.
Recent wins: Next month’s USA Baseball National High School Invitational; 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships; 2024 EsportsTravel Summit; six ACC men’s and women’s championships in tennis and soccer (all 2024-29); five ACC rowing championships (2024, 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2030); 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball first and second rounds; 2025 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship; and 2029 FISU World University Games.
A $300 million renovation of PNC Arena is scheduled to begin next year, funded largely by lodging tax revenue. When the $80 million, 45-acre Swing Racquet + Paddle complex opens next year as the world’s largest racket sports facility, it will add to what is already one of the most diverse venue portfolios in the country. One of the area’s biggest lodging tax generators is the visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series, which attracts more than 1,350 youth soccer teams from across the country to play over four weekends of competition. Around 1,000 college coaches attend for recruiting purposes, bringing more than 72,000 visitors to the area and filling more than 32,000 room nights.
Forward progress: Omni Hotels and Resorts recently announced plans to build a 550-room hotel downtown across from the Raleigh Convention Center. More than 1,800 rooms are under construction in the market, making it one of the largest hotel construction pipelines in the country.
Stay and play: Lollygag over to Durham Bulls Athletic Park and listen for the ghost of Crash Davis. — D.B.
