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Life on Campus at NC State: January 2025

Life on Campus at NC State: January 2025

The last time I published one of these was in September 2024 when there was still at least some optimism remaining around the NCSU 2024 football season. Needless to say, things changed quickly there.

Doak Field Renovations Moving Forward (finally)

I've had plenty of posts on the R&W Network over the past few years that have mentioned these Doak Field renovations. When this project was first announced in January 2022, many of the items I wanted to see added to Doak weren't included in the original plans (i.e., roof over the concourse, premium box seating up near the press box, outfield seating, using Lee Field for something like a beer garden/food truck area, etc.).

However, my hope was that we'd really push these renovations to the fanbase and donors, raise significantly more than the originally quoted $15M price tag, and eventually add future phases. Over the first year of the project leading up to the 2023 season, the bullpens were relocated behind the OF walls, new lights & a new scoreboard were installed, and the seats were replaced.

After the first pitch of the 2023 season though, the athletics department/WPC essentially stopped updating the fans on the status of fundraising and construction. NCSU also ceased promoting the project in-person at games, online, through email, on social media, etc. It was such a stark contrast to the way we'd tried to raise awareness for project fundraising from Jan 2022-Feb 2023 that this whole thing still doesn't quite make sense to me. Even if construction had to stall for one reason or another, I don't understand why we, (1) couldn't inform the fanbase of what was actually going on, and (2) didn't keep pushing and marketing this project for the last two years with the hope of continued fundraising and donations.

Most of my gripes with the athletics department/WPC in recent years have to do with poor communication with the fanbase. Those gripes only grow on my own personal irritation scale when there's a Doak Field renovation tax slapped on the season ticket prices year in & year out, and NCSU still doesn't feel the need to provide any kind of detailed updates to its fanbase. It just feels like a really bad business tactic to ask people for money and then subsequently ignore them for a couple of years.

However, in December 2024, after 22 months of this project seemingly stalling out, the Pack9 social media account finally began posting updates again.

The main news here is that the batting cage down the RF line has been demolished to make room for further renovations of that area, and a temporary cage is being built behind the CF batter's eye in advance of the 2025 season.

Also of note is that the project update page has finally been refreshed. The first change on that page I noticed is that the fundraising tracker has been removed entirely - so who knows what this project now costs, how much has been raised in total, or what the timeline looks like.

This is where the remaining renovation phases now stand:

Projects In Progress

  • Batting Facility
  • Relocating Rightfield Light Poles
  • Team Performance Center
  • Team Locker Rooms
  • Team Lounge
  • Pitching Lab

Future Phases

  • Team Weight Room
  • Concession Upgrades
  • Premium Seating Options
  • Entertainment Spaces
  • Expanded Concourse

I've beaten this suggestion into the ground, but one thing NCSU could do in the near term that would significantly enhance the fan experience at Doak is to connect Lee Field to Doak for baseball games and stage pre-game events in Lee Field with beer tents, food trucks, portable toilets, music, etc. This would be a relatively easy, cost-effective way to make attending a game at Doak a more enjoyable experience for non-diehard baseball fans (and it's something other programs are already doing).

NCSU already hosts 1-2 pre-game events for MBB games each season in the Raleighwood area at Carter-Finley across from the Lenovo Center. Doing something similar at Doak would significantly add to the fan experience, would help alleviate some of the restroom/concession issues that fans face at Doak (I'm still waiting in the restroom line from the May 2024 Raleigh NCAA Regional), and it wouldn't require any kind of additional fundraising or change to the project timeline. It's something we could have ready for Opening Day in February - or at least for the first ACC series once the weather warms up.

Central Campus Set to Undergo Massive Transformation Over Next Decade

Included for many years within NCSU's Campus Physical Master Plan has been a goal of eventually replacing Lee, Sullivan, and Bragaw dormitories. However, the timeline for when the University hoped to do this was unknown.

Back in November, the above-linked project scope description was posted online and outlined the following:

  • The project isn't expected to start until 2028 and will cost approximately $869M;
  • Lee Residence Hall, Sullivan Residence Hall, Bragaw Residence Hall, Fountain Dining Hall, and the West Dunn Building have all reached the end of their useful lives and will be demolished;
  • The project will construct new dorms to house ~3,000 traditional and semi-suite style student beds; and
  • A new 1,500-seat dining facility will also be constructed on Central Campus.

This project will totally transform that area of campus and will be the first new dormitory project on Main Campus in 20+ years. With this being located so close to Doak Field, and with there also being plans included in the Master Plan to move the Dail Softball Stadium next to Doak Field and on top of where Lee Field is currently, this area of campus will be undergoing a complete overhaul in the next decade. If the Dail relocation moves forward, I sincerely hope we do something forward-thinking and construct a seating/concourse area behind Doak's LF wall that could be shared with the Dail in the future.

NCSU Master Plan

If anyone out there other than me is ever interested in following the various capital projects going on around NCSU, this is a link to a PDF managed by the University where these projects are listed and then updated as they progress. Other ongoing campus projects of note are plans for a new $200M engineering building, a new equine hospital, renovations to Polk Hall, Dabney Hall, 111 Lampe Drive Hall, etc., and a study that's currently underway for a new Poole College of Management building.

Lenovo Center Plan Renderings Released (Axios) (WRAL 1) (WRAL 2) (TBJ ($))

I've written a lot of words (arguably too many) about the Lenovo Center renovations, and the surrounding area development plan, over the last few years. This project will reimagine an area of Raleigh that hasn't changed much at all since the Entertainment and Sports Arena opened its doors to mediocre basketball in 1999.

While many details have already been released about what the plans for the area are, renderings weren't seen by the public until last fall when the rezoning application for the project was submitted.

City of Raleigh
  • Subdistrict A: The Lenovo Center and lots that will remain surfacing parking.
  • Subdistrict B: This is what will be deemed the "entertainment district" set between the Lenovo Center and Carter-Finley. This area will (rezoning approval willing) contain a music venue, the dedicated tailgate area/parking decks, restaurants, and buildings between 3 and 15 stories.
  • Subdistrict C: This area will include apartments and retail, with building heights up to 40 stories.
  • Subdistrict D: This district will include office and residential buildings up to 40 stories tall.
City of Raleigh

There has obviously been a lot of handwringing over this project - and for good reason. Given the ever-present level of frustration with NCSU Football's on-field results - the tailgating and gameday environment are big reasons why people love going to Carter-Finley. No one wants to lose that. But I think all of the talk about how this project will "ruin tailgating" is hyperbole.

Based on an email recently sent out by NCSU about the upcoming changes to football parking, I believe the table below outlines the resulting impact if you look at the net loss of surface parking, as well as the number of spots that will be relocated to the new garages, relative to the total amount of parking used for NCSU FB games:

What I still think most people are missing when it comes to this project are, (1) only the Lenovo Center lots will be impacted as the Carter-Finley Stadium and Close-King Practice Facility lots will remain untouched, and (2) not everyone who drives and parks in a spot for football games also tailgates in that same spot. Plenty of people park in their spot, leave their car, and then go join up with someone else's tailgate. Additionally, this project will also result in new entrances/exits to the area to help with traffic congestion and will allow people to actually stay in the area after games at one of the bars or restaurants that will be constructed.

Strictly in terms of the parking decks, one thing that I sincerely hope happens once the decks are constructed is that NCSU offers the new deck spots at a discount so that people who don't have plans to tailgate, and who also may value proximity to the stadium, will be incentivized to purchase the deck spots - thus leaving all the surface spots to the fans who want to tailgate. Given that we're already moving forward with "dynamic pricing" for seats and parking in 2025, I hope this is something we've thought about and plan to implement moving forward.

I maintain that I think this project will be great for Raleigh, the Canes, and NC State in the long run. But the construction phases taking place over the next few years are going to be an absolute pain to deal with. The complaining about this project online and in-person at games is going to be loud and it is going to last for years. NC State's athletics department and the Centennial Authority could do themselves a monumental favor if they clearly articulated the renovation phases, timeline, and future plan changes to the public for the entirety of this project. However, that would require NCSU to put forth a plan and value communicating with its fanbase - which isn't something we've historically been great at doing (or even pretended that we care about doing).

Blue Ridge Rd. Pedestrian Bridge Under Construction

This project was first announced a couple of years ago, but construction is finally moving forward to build a pedestrian walkway parallel to the bridge on Blue Ridge Road that stretches over Wade Avenue/I-40. With all that is going on in the Blue Ridge Corridor with respect to the Lenovo Center area development, DHHS HQ construction, the Bandwidth HQ recently opening, etc., the area desperately needs improved pedestrian connectivity.

This pedestrian bridge, along with the project that's burying Blue Ridge Road under the train tracks at its intersection with Hillsborough St., will do a lot to alleviate some of the walkability issues in this area. The construction page from the City of Raleigh for this project can be found here.

Other News:

Go Pack.

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