Former UNC basketball coach Roy Williams is “very much in favor” of the Smith Center remaining the home of the Tar Heels.
Williams, 75, won 485 games in 18 seasons at UNC from 2003-21, including three national championships. He was also an assistant coach under Dean Smith from 1978-88, on Smith’s coaching staff when the Dean Dome opened in 1986.
Forty years after the first game at the 21,750-seat arena, Williams is playing an active role in leading the charge to keep Carolina basketball at the venue where the program has won 500 games.
“I’m very much in favor of staying here in the Smith Center. Remodeling, renovating, whatever we need to do. I do not want to go off campus,” Williams says in a two-minute video, which was released by the “Smith Center South” group on Jan. 19 via social media.
The group recently created an Instagram account, writing a bio that says “we’re fighting to keep the Dean Smith Center on South Campus where it belongs, at the heart of Carolina. Keep the heartbeat with the heart.” A petition, which can be found at renovatesmithcenter.org, is attached to the profile.
As of Jan. 20, there are 463 signatures. The involvement of Williams could ramp up the support to renovate the Smith Center rather than relocate.
“This message really goes out to you guys who are sitting back, trying to figure out what’s going on with all these questions and people talking about ‘new arena, not a new arena.’ I’ve given my opinion very strongly,” Williams says in the video, which shows him seated inside the arena.
“. … I was Coach Smith’s assistant for 10 years. We had many discussions about basketball, about life, about the golf course, everything. But I do know, during the conversation about what to get out of this building, the Smith Center, that Coach Smith wanted this place on campus. That was his wish. There was no question. And he even told me one day that, after he was dead and gone, it was up to me to fight to keep it on campus. He told me one time, he said, ‘You’re the head coach now. Whatever you want, I want.’ And I said, ‘Coach, we both want the same thing. We want Carolina basketball to be special, Carolina basketball to be different.’ And the Smith Center is part of that.”
The university has been working with several consultants since 2024 to evaluate options for the Smith Center, according to previous reporting and documents obtained by The Fayetteville Observer through a public records request. As previously reported, UNC has considered six potential paths to renovate or relocate.
The 40-year-old Smith Center has 21,750 seats, which makes it the fourth-largest arena in college basketball behind Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center (22,090), Kentucky’s Rupp Arena (23,000) and Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome (34,616). In 2013, UNC explored the possibility of renovating or replacing the Smith Center. Those plans were put on hold, but they would have included premium club seating options that would eliminate a section of upper-level seats.
According to the 2024 report, any renovation or relocation would ideally end up being a 16,000-seat arena.
The Carolina North site, an off-campus location, has seemingly been the most popular option. The 250-acre property is near former Horace Williams Airport off of Estes Drive, about 5 miles from the Smith Center.
There was a video conference call in mid-December featuring former UNC basketball players and university leaders to discuss the future of the Smith Center. First reported by Inside Carolina, Chancellor Lee Roberts, athletics director Bubba Cunningham and athletics-director-in-waiting Steve Newmark were among the leaders seeking feedback from former players, coaches and others connected to the program. There’s no timetable on a decision or announcement from UNC, but it’s clear Williams has made a call on behalf of his alma mater and the Carolina basketball family.
“I am hopeful that the administration really is very sincere, and I think they are, about looking at other options and not just saying that we’re going to have to go to Carolina North for financial reasons. North Carolina can be different,” Williams said.
“I believe in thoughts for the day. I believe in sayings. And I saw one at my house this morning before I left. Life should not be measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away. And the Smith Center, and North Carolina basketball in the Smith Center, has taken many people and taken their breath away by really, really special moments. And I hope that’s where we stay forever.”
