Spectrum Center Renovation, Charlotte

The Spectrum Center renovation in Charlotte was built in two summers. The arena closed when the Hornets’ season ended each spring and reopened each fall, and in between a joint venture of Turner Construction and D.A. Everett Construction Group ran multiple shifts. The $245 million job wrapped in October 2025.

“This project was all about schedule,” Turner’s Drew Kelleher said in the completion announcement.

Project Scope

The City of Charlotte owns the 2005 arena, and Hornets Sports & Entertainment operates it. Perkins&Will designed the renovation and CAA ICON served as owner’s representative. D.A. Everett, founded in Raleigh in 2013 and since moved to Charlotte, was the local half of the builder team. QCity Metro and Black Enterprise covered the award as a nine-figure milestone for a Black-owned contractor.

Phase one, in 2024, reworked the upper concourse with new concessions, lighting and signage. It rebuilt the suite level and three clubs, cut a new tunnel between the lower concourse and the bowl, and added a five-door entrance on the Trade Street side, facing the light rail.

Phase two, in 2025, went after the bowl. Every seat is new. Upper-level seats got wider, and 1,400 seats went in downstairs, bringing capacity to 19,444, Axios Charlotte reported. The main concourse got new flooring, lighting and restrooms, plus a sensory room, a parents’ room and a 225-foot LED board in the lobby. Former club lounges became open bars. The founders level picked up seven suites for a total of 17, and a 50-foot LED display now hangs over the Trade Street plaza.

More than 3,000 construction and trade workers had a hand in it, according to the contractors.

Why It Matters

Charlotte chose to renovate in place instead of replacing a 20-year-old arena, and this is what that choice looks like on a schedule. The building never lost a season. Five months isn’t long to strip and replace an entire seating bowl, and there’s no float, because the first ticketed event is the deadline. Here it was a concert on Oct. 19, 2025, three days before the home opener.

The money is less tidy. City Council approved the public package in June 2022, with $215 million for the arena, and the Hornets’ lease was extended through 2045. The city started construction with $110 million in variable-rate certificates of participation issued in 2023, then moved in 2025 to refinance them as long-term debt, with its treasurer warning that inflation and tariffs would eat any savings. Reports since put the arena work at $245 million. None of the sources reviewed explains who covers the $30 million gap.

The next piece is next door. The Hornets’ Novant Health Performance Center, built by a joint venture that includes Gilbane and R.J. Leeper to a Populous design, topped out early in 2026 and is due in spring 2027. The city’s share of that building is $30 million. The team covers the rest.

Project Team & Details