RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina

The RBC Center or Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena was constructed in 1997. The construction of the building took two years, with a grand opening on October 29, 1999. The arena is home to the Carolina Hurricanes NHL team, NC State University Wolfpack Men's Basketball team, and the arena once had the Carolina Cobras arena football league.

RBC is next to the Carter-Finley Stadium, North Carolina State Fairgrounds, and Dorton Arena. RBC is slated for 19,722 seats for basketball and 18,860 for ice hockey. There are 75 luxury suites and 2,000 club seats on site. Total the building has three concourses with a fine dining restaurant seating up to 500 people. The arena is the second largest for ACC and tenth largest for NCAA.

In order to get the home for the Hurricanes the team had to pay out a portion of the building costs. The state of North Carolina paid the rest. The US bank owned by Royal Bank of Canada acquired the naming rights for $80 million, hence the RBC name. In 2008 the center was renovated to bring in a new sound system. The system installed is a Clair Brother's with JBL line for audio coverage. A year later a Daktronics High Def score board was added. It has full Led with a 4- sided board and the static dot matrix display.

Among shows that have been hosted at the arena are some WWE tournaments like the WWF Summer slam and WWE No Mercy show. In 2012 RBC will host USA summer Olympic trials. Sports are not the only events provided for entertainment. The RBC Center has had Bruce Springsteen, Britney spears, Stanley Cup Finals, PBR, Shania Twain, Usher, Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken, Jeopardy College Championship, and Ron Francis.

Also among the shows have been Nickelback, Christina Aquilera, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyonce, Van Halen, Glen Wesley, and Celine Dion. In the years to come the center will host top name stars and continue offering sporting events.

VAB Catering is the foodservice provider at RBC. They have over 50 food and beverage outlets for all types of food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, sandwiches, beer, soda, and much more can be found through VAB Catering. They also offer fine dining. A few places include NC Barbecue Company, which offers a smoked BBQ sandwich with cole slaw. There is also South Street Cheeseteaks, Panini sandwiches, and Fresh Salads.

For fine dining the Arena Club restaurant provides a buffet with soups, salad, side items, entrees, and a carving station. The restaurant has a 50 inch flat screen and a few LCD televisions spread throughout the restaurant. The other option for food at this location is the A La Carte providing a menu with 9 dishes including prime rib. However, A La Carte is not available for all events, just select ones.

Ledge Lounge is for premium ticket holders. It has a full selection of beer, wine, liquor and menu items. They also have televisions in the restaurant.