Carolina Hurricanes: Tom Dundon’s 1-Year Report Card, Part Two

In-Game Experience

I have already spoken to this a little in the first portion of the report card. The Fan Tunnel has already enhanced the in-game experience for many looking to come face-to-face with their favorite players. Promotional nights such as Whalers night and Home Grown games continue to deliver refreshing experiences for the fan base. Tom Dundon went further than that and started asking a question that Peter Karmanos never did: what else can we add to PNC Arena to make it a better in-game experience for those who come?

The answer came in the shape of more and more upgrades to the 10th-largest indoor sports arena in the United States (by max capacity). It started small in the previous season. Fans began to realize that more concessions were open during the game, even in the higher level seats. Breast-feeding stations were added for mothers to find privacy while feeding their infants.

Beer carts and walking beer vendors were introduced to games where the attendance was expected to be higher. As the attendance number continued to rise, the number of concessions and beer vendors increased to meet them, ensuring short lines. These were some things Hurricanes fans were not used to seeing in PNC Arena.

It started to get bigger. The eye started carrying so much merchandise it spilled out onto the concourse. Dundon took advantage of the extended off-season (after missing the playoffs for a ninth year successive year) to introduce healthier options to the collection of concessions. It came in a even more convenient “grab-and-go” convenient store-style mini market that allowed fans to grab whichever beers they want from a fridge and pay for it at a cash register.

The off-season also saw the installation of new seats in the third deck as well as some in the lower bowl. Earlier this season saw the construction of a 3D light projector. It has been used during the Whalers Night game to project the Whalers logo onto the ice as well as the military appreciation game to display the American Flag. NC State Basketball also began using it for their games in a much more creative way:

This is something most other teams already have. Some, like the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils, use it masterfully. Others, like the St.Louis Blues, leave a lot to be imagined with their lack of use of such an amazing system. The Hurricanes are yet to be determined. If they use it as well as NC State did, there will be much hope. With some new creative personnel being hired, perhaps Dundon wants to be the best in the business. Only time will tell.

But not all the in-arena upgrades were strictly for the fans. The players received a new locker room with plans to build an indoor turf warm-up area with a viewing area for fans. How well that turned out for the players will be discussed later. For now, the warm-up area remains a promise not yet kept by Dundon.

The biggest yet-to-be-seen promise made by Tom Dundon is the addition of a new center-ice video scoreboard. Dundon’s vision is a scoreboard that extends from blue line to blue line. Examples of what that would look like are the Blues and Lightning scoreboards. He wanted it installed and ready for this season, offering to cover the costs himself, but it was delayed to the next season.

The current scoreboard has already been used to its very limits this season, but the aged technology and video screens severely limit the kind of products that can help better draw in the crowd during games. In-game experience isn’t limited to on-ice performance. Entertainment is the reality of what drives attendance to the seats and Dundon understands this, way more than Karmanos ever did.

Most of these in-game experience items aren’t fully dictated and controlled by Tom Dundon. It is based upon his ability to negotiate with the Centennial Authority, who technically own PNC Arena. But just being in the same room with them was doing more than Peter Karmanos did in the previous decade. With several promises still hanging in the air, this is one part of Dundon’s first year that still needs some work.

GRADE: B-