Written by MICHAEL KOH
There are no more games at the Smith Center this basketball season, but the arena is still top of mind.
Seth Trimble, Carolina’s beloved senior guard who played his final home game Tuesday night, provided a viral mic-drop moment at the end of his senior speech. As he was about to sign off, Trimble said he hopes to see the Smith Center here for a long, long time.
The crowd let out a loud cheer. The reaction from athletic director Bubba Cunningham, who was in attendance, likely wasn’t as enthusiastic.
Cunningham appeared on a special podcast with UNC’s Jones Angell, Adam Lucas and Chancellor Lee Roberts last week to detail the discussions around the future of Carolina Basketball and its home arena. Cunningham and Roberts both provided their reasonings for shopping around; namely, aging infrastructure at the Smith Center and new revenue opportunities elsewhere. Specifically, Cunningham noted a $20 million delta between staying at the Smith Center and leaving, which he and his staff found compelling.
That delta was put out in the open Wednesday, when financial statistics for a number of different arena options were published. UNC presented seven categories: a repair of the Smith Center, a renovation, and new arenas at the Bowles Lot, Odum Village, the Smith Center footprint itself, the Friday Center and Carolina North.
UNC’s numbers clearly lay out why the university is so keen on Carolina North. The school estimates a Carolina North arena could net it more than $26 million annually, as opposed to around $4 million if it stays at the Smith Center. UNC is also bullish on Carolina North’s mixed-use potential, which it says is nonexistent at the Smith Center.
Much of the blowback from fans on the Carolina North option is due to its off-campus location. The Bowles Lot and Odum Village options could appease that sect of the fanbase, and UNC estimates both could net the school more than $24 million a year. However, both have their drawbacks. Should UNC decide to build on the Bowles Lot while continuing to stage games at the Smith Center, an already strained parking situation would get even worse. The Odum Village option is interesting due to its vacant location, but its close proximity to UNC Hospitals could lead to some uncomfortable discussions about which venue takes precedence on the limited space.
Whether in a new arena or a renovated Smith Center, UNC envisions a seating capacity of around 16,000, a downsize of more than 5,000 seats from the current arena. UNC also sees a new student section layout at its new digs, with students seated behind both baskets. The school compared student seating at the Smith Center with peer institutions such as Duke, UConn and Indiana. In nearly every case, the Smith Center fell short.
Is there a move Cunningham could make that would please every fan? I don’t think so. And that’s the main reason why this discussion is still ongoing.
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Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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Chansky’s Notebook: The Man in the Arena Chapelboro.com.
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