Raleigh leaders mark key step in a major downtown development project for Red Hat Amphitheate move

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh leaders marked a key step in a major downtown development project with a steel beam topping ceremony at the future site of the new Red Hat Amphitheater.

The project is part of a multiyear plan to expand the Raleigh Convention Center and add an Omni Hotel, efforts aimed at increasing tourism and helping the city attract larger events.

City and tourism officials say Raleigh's growth has outpaced its available hotel rooms and event space, limiting its ability to compete with other cities for major conventions.

"There are a number of conventions who want to come here, and we just didn't have the capacity either due to the convention center size or usually lack of hotel," said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. "So now that we're addressing those needs, we've gotten a lot of interest."

The amphitheater will be relocated just across the street, allowing its current site to be transformed into expanded convention center space.

"We're now going to be able to attract larger, beyond region, more national conferences that we couldn't get before," said Kerry Painter, Executive Director of the Raleigh Convention Center.

Painted cited data which found the city had lost significant business opportunities due to limited capacity.

"We did a five-year study when we were contemplating this, and we figured out that we had lost about 280,000 hotel room nights because we couldn't book those conferences," Painter said.

Local business owners say the changes could bring increased foot traffic and economic benefits to downtown.

"Visibility, increase in sales," said Taurean Lewis, owner of Maison Neue on Fayetteville Street. "I feel like all of the local smaller businesses of downtown, you really rely on the foot traffic, the growth, the festivals. It's a necessity in a sense."

Lewis, who set up his pop-up initially timed out with Dreamville, said he has already seen the impact of downtown growth, with visitors from around the world coming through the area.

"The growth in downtown is amazing, and it's really nice to see people come from other places," he said. "I have people that walk by here from London, you know, New York, L.A."

Mayor Janet Cowell said the project is expected to enhance Raleigh's appeal as a destination for concerts and events.

"I've talked to music industry executives who said they want to be in this market," Cowell said. "This venue is now particularly sought after. We have 45 to 50 shows a year. It brings in tens of millions of dollars and 100,000 plus hotel nights."

Construction on the new amphitheater is expected to be completed by spring 2027, in time for the summer concert season.