RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The Carolina Hurricanes will have the home ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They’ll be taking on the New Jersey Devils, starting at Lenovo Center. Tens of thousands of fans will be headed to Raleigh to catch at least games 1 and 2—and that means a big economic impact is coming to the city.
“It’s awesome. It’s a huge impact just them making the playoffs, extending the season, it brings a lot of business in,” said Chad Beltz, the General Manager of Rudino’s Sports Corner, which is about two and a half miles up the road from the Lenovo Center.
He tells us each night the Canes play, it boosts business.
“It’s a very big difference…like thousands of dollars. So yeah, it’s a huge impact on the economy, like local economy, local businesses.”
Taking a look at ticket prices for games one and two at the Lenovo Center, we’re seeing prices as low as $77 on Ticketmaster, as of Friday. Games five and seven would take place at the Lenovo Center, too.
According to the Executive Director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, Scott Dupree, it’s estimated the economic impact of just one sold-out home playoff game for the Carolina Hurricanes is roughly $2-3 million dollars.
The date and time of the first game of this series has yet to be announced.