The Charlotte Hornets will begin a major renovation of the Spectrum Center this spring. Hornets Sports and Entertainment, which operates the arena, announced Friday it will add 2,500 seats to the lower level, revamp luxury suites and redesign its concourses.
The Hornets expect the project to start at the beginning of the team’s offseason in May and be complete by the beginning of the 2025-26 season. The Spectrum Center will close from May through September this year and next to finish the project by then.
The city of Charlotte owns the Spectrum Center. To get the Hornets to extend their lease by 15 years to 2045, City Council agreed in 2022 to spend $215 million to renovate the arena — and another $60 million to build a standalone practice facility for the team. It’s unclear how much the total cost of the renovation will be.
Donna Julian, the Hornets' executive vice president and Spectrum Center general manager, said in a statement that the renovation “touches nearly every aspect of the arena and allows us to remain the premier destination for sports and entertainment in the Carolinas.”
“We have always viewed Spectrum Center as an important community asset that brings people together and has tremendous economic impact for our city,” said Julian.
The Spectrum Center opened in 2005 and has been the home of the Charlotte Hornets since 2005. It was formerly home to the minor-league ice hockey team Charlotte Checkers and the now-defunct WNBA team Charlotte Sting. The last major renovation of the arena took place in 2014 in preparation for the team to host the NBA All-Star Game.
The renovations will include:
- 2,500 lower-level seats are to be added by 2025.
- The main Spectrum Center concourse will be completely renovated to improve “traffic flow” in the arena.
- The Uptown Concourse, Dr Pepper Pavilion and “The Nest” will undergo a redesign this year.
- All Club & Hospitality spaces will undergo a refresh during both 2024 and 2025 with the addition of a new “Courtside Club.”
- The suites will be overhauled to include five sizes to accommodate from two to 130 guests.
