By now everyone has heard the conversations regarding whether or not the University of North Carolina will renovate the Dean Smith Center, or if they will develop and build a new arena in the new portion of campus that they are trying to build called Carolina North. For Carolina fans that have never been to Chapel Hill, Carolina North would be built 1.5 miles north of Franklin Street. How far is that from where the Dean Dome is now? It is approximately four miles away, which would essentially make it to where students will have to shuttle to basketball games.
Still, school officials have their reasons to want to relocate. If they were to build a new arena at the new site, they would be able to create a potentially better parking situation, make a completely modern arena built from the ground up with all the bells and whistles. For anybody that has gone to a basketball or a football game on campus, you know that Skipper Bowles Drive and Manning Drive can be a nightmare before and after games.
Of course there’s the flip side to all this: the Dean Smith Center is irreplaceable in the eyes of many. Fans, players, and coaches all love the arena due to the history and dedication of the building to the late Dean Smith. Walking into the Dean Dome is an indescribable experience, especially when looking up in the rafters and seeing all the banners that have been won over the years. Sure, the banners and the history can get moved into another building, but renovating the building would make many people very happy. Renovating would likely be the preference for anybody with lifetime tickets, as those who helped fund the building of the Dean Smith Center has tickets for life, and they get one generational handoff after their passing. Finally, there is student access. With the current arena being on campus, most students can either walk to games or hop on the bus for a short ride.
So, dear readers, we would like to know which side of the fence you are on. Would you like the Dean Smith Center to be renovated, or are you in favor of building a new arena as part of the Carolina North initiative? Let us know what you think should happen in the comments below.
