Keep your eyes on West Raleigh, as a host of new updates are coming down the pipeline.
Canes’ new executive dynamic duo CEO Brian Fork and President Doug Warf have joined forces alongside GM Eric Tulsky to take on the Herculean task of bringing to fruition owner Tom Dundon’s vision for West Raleigh, including the plans for a PNC Arena renovation, expansion, future sportsbook, landing MLB Raleigh, and building out the best “premiere sports and entertainment district in the country,” says Fork—mixing Raleigh’s innate Southern hospitality and tech savvy to give us something no other city has, adds Warf.
The Canes dream team is eager to get started alongside partners Centennial Authority and NC State—to whom they are “eternally grateful,” says Warf. They, as well as the board, Wake County and City of Raleigh are integral to the vision, adds Fork, and “we owe a debt of gratitude.”
Plans/updates:
—$300 million PNC Arena renovation over next three years over multiple phases (likely three) during hockey off-season
—Focus at the Arena on fan experience is paramount re: speed of use and service from the event (concert/game) to F&B to merch.
—$800 mill–$1 billion mixed-use district development around the arena to include already announced concert/entertainment venues, walkable bars, offices, retail, residential, hotel, possible sportsbook, affordable housing component and more
—First phase for outdoor development: Scheduled construction and buildout are at least a year away, if not longer, with quickest start likely coming fall 2025 post-football (no decisions made).
—Once first phase starts (entertainment, restaurants, retail, some office/residential, probably hotel), all components of future phases will also be determined.
—Parking: Looking at additional parking and new parking concepts as part of the development all around the building. “We are well aware nobody would want to buy an apartment where they would have to sit in a line [to come home/leave] every time there is an event,” notes Fork.
—Traveling to/from events: Potential entrances at both/either Wade and Edwards Mill are being considered as part of the development (years away).
—Sportsbook plans have not been developed and much is still to be determined. If a sportsbook takes shape in a venue, construction wouldn’t start for at least a couple more years. Could decide to keep sportsbook relationship entirely online.
—A very serious pursuit to bring MLB to Raleigh—having owner on board puts us way ahead of other cities in U.S.
“Most places you’ve got a building that’s being renovated in an urban area that’s got a lot around it—or you’re going way outside of town,” says Fork. “Here we have a centralized location with a building and stadium already here in a big 80-acre parking lot we can develop. So that’s exciting—huge for Raleigh, for the fans of the teams that play here, the entertainment consumer and really our whole state.”
Both Fork and Warf’s commitment to Raleigh and Dundon’s vision is apparent.
“These are legacy projects,” says Warf. … “When you look at the team and the strength of where the team is and the building, when you look at what we can do around this… to see that start to come to fruition, that’s a legacy project. Pursuit of Major League Baseball is a legacy project. Those are things my daughter would tell her kids about. And to be even somewhat involved in that is monumental. Truly, truly exciting.”
From left: Doug Warf and Brian Fork
Get to Know Brian Fork:
“I’m just a Canes fan,” says Fork, nodding to his excitement. He grew up in Raleigh 2 miles from the facility in about the same place he’s raising his kids now.
“I’ve been a [Canes] customer for 25 years,” he adds, nothing he’s bought every type of ticket package you can get, from season tickets to rafters tickets (trying to sneak downstairs) and been to almost every home playoff game, the Draft, All-Star weekend, etc.
“I’ve been around—I bought the food and beverage, the jerseys, the hats. … I love the Canes. I watch the games. I get really into it. I’m a Wolfpack fan and spent a lot of nights in this building watching basketball. … There’s this fun kind of feeling of obligation that I have to the fans. Anything I can do to help the Canes and NC State basketball is going to be rewarding.”
A full-circle moment for a die-hard fan and Raleighite: “I remember when this place wasn’t here and we would throw the football in the grass probably right above where we’re standing right now on that gravel road that came into the stadium back before the Centennial Center had even been thought up by Jimmy V,” he reminisces. “This area means a lot to me—sports mean a lot to me.”
Get to Know Doug Warf:
“Doug worked here 15+ years and has done every job except kill penalties,” jokes Fork. “Neither Brian nor I have to learn how to do the Wolfpack symbol,” ribs Warf, who has lived in the Triangle for 25 years. “That was born into us.”
Warf is extremely excited to be back with the Canes and back at the place where he cut his teeth as an unpaid intern before spending the next 16 years. “This was a dream job for me,” he muses, adding a debt of gratitude to Michael Olander Jr. at MDO Holdings, from which he just parted. “He allowed me to do a lot of things that have helped me a ton in my growth in my business and professional development. I really appreciate [Michael] and the team at MDO Holdings—I’ll miss those guys, but I’m extremely excited to be back.”
Nodding to the likewise full-circle moment both personally and professionally, he adds: “Dundon has a big vision—and it starts with looking at the fact that there are three of us doing what was previously one job. That’s a testament to what he plans and wants to do here. The more we saw what Tom was envisioning—if you don’t get excited something is wrong with you.”
After adding one parking app too many to our phones and pulling a $100+ parking ticket, we investigated the puzzle that is DTR private-lot parking.
Downtown is back. People are flocking in droves on the daily—whether it’s for dining and drinking, events, festivals, or concerts. But Downtown parking can seem like a labyrinth, a search that’s cumbersome at best, a straight deterrent at worst. Despite myriad decks and lots, finding a spot alone can feel nearly impossible—never mind having to then navigate lot restrictions, or download and learn some new app.
Last month, we learned a Raleigh resident was slapped with a $125 parking ticket in the private lot directly across from the One Glenwood building. The CVS-long ticket was littered with fine print—“if you pay within 15 days you’ll get a $90 discount; if you pay within 30 days you’ll get a $60 discount,” and so on.
So it got us thinking… Why are there so many different apps—and which are even legit? Most importantly: Do you really have to pay?
For starters, turns out there’s actually only one parking app the City of Raleigh contracts with across its 10 parking decks and two lots: Passport Parking. “And that’s it,” says Matthew Currier, parking manager for the City of Raleigh Transportation Department. “Everything else—which is a lot of operators and private owners, etc.—is all done Wild West-style.” Translation: The property owner can easily establish a private lot and charge whatever they want. So rates and rules can vary widely even with the same app in different lots.
“It’s just a form, and all [they do] is collect your license plate, your money and attach the amount of time you can be there,” explains Currier. “That’s a really easy thing to spin up from an app-developer perspective. … I’m not 100% sure what ramifications they have or what access they have post-issuance of a citation,” says Currier.
So wait? Does that mean there are no consequences? This revelation of course befell a set of new questions. Beyond the apps, who’s monitoring these lots, and who’s tracking ticket payment—and to what end? After reaching out to various parking app operators and property managers of local private lots, ultimately neither takes responsibility for procuring ticket payment.
One verified DTR lot owner told us, “We use The Car Park [app] to monitor and collect payments when our tenants are closed at night and weekends, but we have no involvement with their operations.”
The latter conflicts with what the app operators told us. “We do not enforce payment with the lots we partner with,” said a representative for Honk Mobile, which was echoed by ParkMobile. “Each parking lot is owned by their own operator and each operator has their own enforcement on who to ticket/tow.”
So while it’s unclear if there are any real ramifications for not paying those private tickets, you’ll have to decide if it’s a risk you’re willing to take.
Got a City of Raleigh parking ticket?
$ You have 21 days to pay. $ After 21 days, if you still haven’t paid, the ticket goes up by $10. $ Still haven’t paid? You’ll get a notice in the mail. $ After 200+ days of no payment, the city sends the citation to NC Department of Revenue Debt Setoff Unit, which procures payment via lottery winnings or state income taxes. $ If you have three or more outstanding citations for 90+ days, the city notifies you and is permitted to boot your car.
Here are a handful of credible apps you’re likely to see around town. *Allows you to reserve a parking spot in advance
Passport Parking passportparking.com Contracted with the city; zone-based parking
ParkMobile* parkmobile.io *Contracted with NC State; reserve a spot in advance via spot finder map
ParkWhiz* parkwhiz.com Find and compare prices for now or later; pre-purchase discounts; snag mobile parking passes for events in advance (e.g. Canes games, concerts)
The Car Park thecarpark.com Find and compare prices; join waiting list
Honk Mobile honkmobile.com Offers prepaid pack of parking credits; doesn’t require app download via QR code
Don’t just wing it as you travel this summer. From prepaid RDU parking to the best flight-booking days, we’ll have you soaring—and saving—as you fly the friendly skies.
Travel confidence is soaring; mask mandates have been lifted and the U.S. no longer requires people traveling back into the country to get a COVID test… and like birds of a feather, we’re ready to spread our wings and, well, flock together. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows during peak travel season (especially during busy summer holidays like the Fourth of July)—so before you flip out, allow us to highlight some stress-reducing, money-saving summer travel hacks.
Put It in Park
Gone are the days of pulling up preflight in full-on anxiety mode to find all parking lots full. Enter the super-huge revelation that is ParkRDU’s online pre-booking option (tell your friends about it—or don’t and save all the good spots for yourself…). Choose your date, time and location—only caveat is you have to book at least 24 hours in advance. Bonus: You can also see the capacity of each parking lot in real-time via RDU Airport’s website… so you can swap #stressmode for #airplanemode and have one less hiccup between home and sipping that cocktail at 40,000 feet. rdu.com
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
Sure no one wants to wake up at 4am to catch a flight, but it’s worth it—trust us… just don’t oversleep and get left behind like Kevin McCallister. Pros’ll tell you that taking the earliest flight available is an easy hack (think more follow-up options, more flexibility, fewer frantic bodies). You’ll thank us when that seemingly more convenient afternoon flight you were eyeing gets canceled and you’re not having to spend the night in an airport lobby (hey, Tom Hanks in The Terminal!).
Direct Is Best
Like dawn flights, direct flights are your new best friend for steering clear of potential travel headaches. Where possible, choose the option with the most direct flights available to avoid unexpected cancellations and delays. Plus, the more stops involved, the higher the risk (*mind wanders to your last Olympic sprint through some rando terminal*). And, c’mon, who likes layovers anyway?
Peak Flights
While most people will tend to jump on that Sunday afternoon flight in order to get back for work Monday, beat the Sunday scaries (and high prices!) by opting for flights on off-peak days and times—like Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Saturdays. And if that just isn’t possible for you, early morning (ahem, smarter and cheaper!) and red-eye flights will also help save you money and stress.
If you thought parking was a problem on Glenwood South before—wait for it. The city recently approved resident-only parking zones on several blocks both on and directly off of Glenwood Avenue. The 800 & 900 blocks of Glenwood (near Peace Street), and the 500 blocks of side streets Cleveland and Tilden are now Residential “H” Permit Zones (Devereux Street is already H Zone)—and residents will have to apply for permits. The move comes after many residents of the bustling district complained to the city about not being able to find parking near their own homes (not to mention disturbances like noise, trash, etc.). With the new rule, nonresidents will no longer be allowed to park in these zones from 11pm to 7am on any day. Given Glenwood South’s recent surge in popularity—arguably surpassing its prepandemic status—and its void of parking possibilities, the new zoning will either just push the problem down the street, or worse, detract would-be Glenwood South-goers and negatively impact businesses in the borough. And with the potential to make area parking even less plentiful, city leaders voted in March to eliminate parking minimums for new developments, regardless of size (as previously allotted). But, hey, there’s always still Uber…
WEB EXCLUSIVE Outdoor diners and drinkers rejoice!
If you’re outdoorsy in that you like drinking on patios, your outdoor imbibing sesh just got a huge upgrade. Enter the City of Raleigh’s new outdoor seating regulations that allow for (more) “streeteries” to be implemented at DTR bars and restaurants beyond the pandemic. (Can we get a cheers?!)
You’ve likely already tossed back a brew or two on a streetery—which converts on-street parking spaces to provide more outdoor seating for patrons—in the past two-plus years (Crank Arm, Irregardless Cafe and The Raleigh Times are just a few local businesses that added one to their patios during the pandemic), but now you’ll see them cropping up at more and more at sip and sup spots around town thanks to a $500,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan.
And before any DTR parking rants start… hear us out (and, TBH, we rec an Uber for that spirits sesh anyway). While streeteries may take away from local businesses’ parking spots, they will ultimately help locally owned Raleigh restaurants and bars thrive—so a chicken and egg situation, if you will. According to Crank Arm owner Adam Eckhardt in a November 2021 interview with Spectrum News 1, the streeteries helped gain a lot of positive feedback from customers and helped his business survive during the worst of COVID.
But streeteries aren’t the only thing sticking around. Raleigh City Council also just approved an ordinance to codify temporary curbside pickup zones into the City Code—meaning, whether you like it or not, they’re here to stay. A result of DRA’s Public Realm Study, the now-permanent curbside pickup zones provide customers of local businesses a safe spot to park their vehicles and pickup takeout orders, which have remained a prominent option for a lot of local restaurants—and for Raleighites who enjoy cozying up on their couches with a good, local meal. (Again, yes, street parking takes the backseat—but without that spot to pull up in DTR how often were you really considering takeout…)
So whether you dig dining or drinking outside or pref easy no-fuss pullup to grab that to-go box in your PJs to nosh on at home, Downtown Raleigh has plenty of ops for how and where you want to eat and drink.
