UNC is still considering replacing the Dean E. Smith Center with a new arena at Carolina North as part of a major mixed use project.
North Carolina plans to issue an RFP in January seeking a master developer for Carolina North, the 250-acre site two miles north of the main campus, Sports Business Journal reported in December. The property was tagged as a potential landing spot for a new Tar Heel basketball arena and basketball museum, but no decision was announced. RFP details were not released. Texas and Ole Miss also are planning campus mixed use projects with housing and athletic components.
To finally jumpstart the Carolina North development process—the concept was first publicly mentioned in 2008—the university hired RCLCo, an expert on sports facilities, in the fall to consult on planning and implementation strategies and plans.
The magazine said an update given to the UNC Board of Trustees’ University Affairs committee in mid-November noted that the Carolina North funding mix will vary by project, but it could include public-private partnerships in addition to fully university-funded efforts. The development will, or could, entail:
• Undergraduate/graduate student housing
• Workforce housing
• Retail
• Hotel
• New athletics facilities
• Expanded academic and research programs and facilities
UNC trustees also heard a pitch in July from a group of investors interested in putting a cricket oval at the new development, according to SBJ.
Populous, a Kansas City design firm, produced a site study for the university over a year ago, which targeted five potential new sites, including Carolina North, as well as addressing whether the Tar Heel basketball’s 40-year-old Smith Center could be suitably renovated. Since then, the former Horace Williams Airport property appeared to be the leading candidate, along with the idea of having an entertainment district with hotel, restaurants, shops for an enhanced fan experience, revenue generator.
But a flurry of events in mid-December could have slowed down the project, University officials held meetings with focus and booster groups and a video call with former players who asked for their voices to be heard and the arena be kept on campus.
This occurred after a statement opposing the off-campus move, signed by 91 former players, boosters, alumni and donors, arrived. The signees included Tyler Hansbrough and Wanda Williams. UNC officials downplayed the opposition.
Meanwhile, the idea of developing the North Campus keeps growing. The main campus is aging and they’re adding 5,000 more students over the next several years so new dorms, labs and academic facilities are needed. The health affairs campus continues growing as well. The chancellor is the leading cheerleader for the new arena.
Also growing are neighborhood and community concerns here about noise and traffic that would be generated by the new 16,000-seat arena and the threat caused by new construction to the trails and forests of Carolina North.
The General Assembly last year limited local governments in four countries including Orange from reviewing and impacting or restricting state construction. The other three are Buncombe, Watauga, Wake.
Joel Bulkley