Hurricanes President & GM Jim Rutherford on Friday said that the team “could be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by the NHL because of a scheduling conflict with N.C. State University over event dates at PNC Arena,” according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. Gale Force Holdings, which owns the team and operates the arena, “has been at odds with the university’s athletic department for months over scheduling.” Rutherford said that a June 1 deadline for the school “to free up possible dates for the hockey games -- as well as concerts, pro wrestling and other events -- likely will not be met.” Rutherford: “We do not have the dates. We have to have the dates (to the NHL) by June 1 or we will be fined for each date that we later change.” If the dispute “forces the Hurricanes to change game dates” after the NHL schedule is set in early July, the league “could fine the Canes $100,000 for each date that must be changed.” N.C. State under its agreement with Gale Force and the Centennial Authority, which oversees the arena, “has priority on scheduling dates.” An exchange of letters in the past few months that were recently released by the Centennial Authority “reflects the tension” between the Hurricanes and N.C. State (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/1).
