Red Hat Amphitheater revealed relocation plans to place the theater one block south of where it currently stands downtown in April. This September, Raleigh’s city council voted to move this forward, closing one block of South Street.

The plan to relocate the amphitheater is only one within a larger initiative to grow downtown Raleigh’s tourism, creating more spaces for NC State students to enjoy.

Michael Walden, Reynolds distinguished professor emeritus at NC State, said downtown areas need spaces like the amphitheater.

“You want to have sites and activities in a downtown that will attract people, and Raleigh has been trying to do that for years,” Walden said. “We’re unlike Charlotte, which has professional sports downtown. … One of the things that [the amphitheater] serves is to bring people downtown. They come downtown, they spend money, they eat at restaurants, etc.”

Jane Harrison, Raleigh city council member of District D, said Red Hat Amphitheater’s capacity will remain the same, but the move allows for key improvements.

“We’ve tested out some new materials that will be behind the stage that will be able to block out more of that noise, so that’ll be better for neighbors,” Harrison said. “I think the new venue will have better dressing rooms, better bathrooms, better ADA access. … We’re going to have some pocket parks on the west side, so some really nice green space that’s going to be added for sitting and hanging out.”

Raleigh plans to add 80,000 square feet of flexible event space and 30 additional breakout rooms, totaling 300,000 square feet of space. Harrison said this would nearly double the convention center’s total size, allowing for more people to engage with the center.

“That will allow us to really grow the economic impact of the convention center,” Harrison said.

Harrison said the growth in economic impact will assist with Raleigh’s growth.

“One thing to note is that … we will see even greater amounts of those hospitality taxes because of this business, which means then we can invest even more into other amenities in our areas,” Harrison said. “… And so that money that’s generated from the convention center, from Canes games, from tourists coming in our area, gets to be reinvested in other assets. That could be the soccer park in Cary, it could be the arts or anything that we believe really draws visitors that’s exciting.”

The decision to close one block of South Street arose after residents and businesses raised concerns about their ability to get to and from work and school and go about their daily lives during and after the relocation. 

Harrison said she wanted to make sure the closure didn’t impact residents around South Street and their connectivity to downtown areas.

As a result, the city plans to build a new slip lane going east to west between McDowell and Dawson, which Harrison said will take one to two years. In the meantime, Harrison said the road closure “should not have any outsized negative impacts.”

NC State, located about two miles from downtown, is an important part of tourism in Raleigh. As of the beginning of September, a new GO Raleigh bus line connects Hillsborough Street with Raleigh’s downtown. Harrison said she hopes students will rely on the bus line.

“I’m really hoping more students will say, ‘Hey, I don’t need a car to get here,’” Harrison said, “‘I’m going to bus down, go out for a few hours, go to a show, and really connect to our downtown.’” 

The line started running on Sept. 8, with stops every 15 minutes.