RALEIGH — The multi-phase development to include parking decks, retail and office space as well as a hotel and housing around the Lenovo Center won’t impact parking for NC State football games in 2025.

Originally, work on the potential $1-billion development was scheduled to begin at the end of 2025 football season with one parking deck built in time for the 2026 season at the adjacent Carter-Finley Stadium.

Lenovo Center is home to NC State’s men’s basketball program and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes as well as concerts and other arena programming. Carter-Finley Stadium is the Wolfpack’s football home.

NC State fans were sent two slightly different versions of a letter alerting them to the construction. One said that “redevelopment plans will not start before the end of the 2026 football season.” The other, more accurate version, said “district development construction will not impact parking for the 2026 football season.”

The Hurricanes said Thursday that construction on the Lenovo Center District development is set to begin in 2026 and it will be staged in a way as to not impact parking for the 2026 football season. 

The City of Raleigh approved a rezoning of the property, but individual projects on the site still must receive permits.

The Hurricanes have development rights to the 80 acres around the arena, which they obtained as part of a deal that extended their lease and secured $300 million for renovations inside the arena. 

The first phase of those renovations — including a view bar and concourse upgrades on the 300 level, new suites at the arena level and a multi-purpose room for events — are ongoing and could be ready by January or February during the basketball and hockey season.

But a longtime member of the Centennial Authority board, which was created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1995 and owns the arena, expressed frustration at the pace of progress.

“It’s somewhat difficult … we’re not able to show our larger community,” said Doyle Parrish, the chairman of the board’s building committee. “Bingo, this is the view bar. It’s delivered. Bingo, this is the bunker suites. They’re delivered now. Or this is our fifth level and we’ve gotten these concourses redone. We are a year-plus into the project and $100 million into the project and we really haven’t had much to show off.”

Construction began on July 1 after final contracts were signed. The board has been discussing renovations to the arena for more than a decade.

Parking around the Lenovo Center and Carter-Finley Stadium has been one of the most discussed aspects of the development project. Plans for the first phase call for two three-story parking decks with a combined 1,800 spots that overlook a new tailgate area.

Sections 317-319 at Lenovo Center remains a work in progress. Will be view bar and have seats above it when finished. pic.twitter.com/FbXIo33FJH

— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) December 13, 2025

“We have unbelievable parking and anything that changes is going to change that,” NC State athletics director Boo Corrigan said in late July. “I think that is the single biggest issue: people are worried about the parking.”

In August 2024, Corrigan said that NC State has “the best parking in college football. People love to talk about other places around the country that have these tailgating zones and these great areas. I try to be quick to remind people that’s because they don’t have any parking. It will change. It’s not going to change tomorrow. It’s going to change over time. As it does change, we’re going to be a part of it.”