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More fans will be able to see each Carolina Hurricanes hockey game, NC State men’s basketball game and concerts at Lenovo Center beginning next season.

The Raleigh arena is adding more seats as part of its ongoing $300-million renovation projects, pushing total capacity past 21,000 depending on the configuration of the arena for various events and shows.

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The Centennial Authority board approved Thursday the purchase of new seats for the entire lower bowl and select other areas of the arena. The new seats will cost more than $4.1 million. The plan is to install the new seats during July and August when the arena will go dark for eight weeks to allow for construction.

The renovation project will reduce the number of aisles in the lower bowl, allowing for more additional seats. The size of the seats (19 inches) will not change. A smaller number of seats will be added to certain parts of the 300 level.

The renovation project was expected to reduce capacity in the arena thanks to new features like a view bar on the 300 level. Instead it will grow.

“I can’t tell you how important that is to the touring events,” said board chairman Philip Isley.

Basketball capacity is expected to grow by approximately 663 seats to 20,450. Hockey capacity is expected to grow by 694 seats to approximately 19,606. And concerts or touring events would see a jump of more than 700 seats with exact amounts depending on the configuration of the arena. Events that use the entire arena would have 21,266 seats.

Lenovo Center is set to host the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of the 2028 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Construction is ongoing on the view bar, concourse changes, new suites on the floor level and a new multi-purpose room. The individual projects that will be included in the next phases of the $300-million plan are expected to be announced in February.

The renovation is separate from the planned development of an entertainment district around the arena.

Georgia Tech could have the tallest post duo NC State has faced this season, if freshman center Mouhamed Sylla is healthy.

NC State coach Will Wade knows that Georgia Tech’s style and sheer size changes if the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Sylla and 6-9, 240-pound Baye Ndongo play together at 12 p.m. Saturday on The CW Network at the Lenovo Center. The two Senegal, Africa, natives haven’t had much time together in ACC action.

Sylla started the season with five double-doubles in the first six games for Georgia Tech. He was also a rim protector with nine blocked shots during that November stretch.

Sylla was limited to 13 minutes against Duke on Dec. 31, and then missed the Boston College and Syracuse games due to a lower leg injury. He tried to play against Miami on Jan. 10, but couldn’t after two minutes, and missed the 89-66 blowout loss against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Sylla was in a medical boot during the game.

Wade will know quickly if he’ll face a “tall” team or small ball based on Sylla’s availability. He is averaging 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 22.3 minutes per game.

“I mean, look, he was a great player,” Wade said. “When they have those two bigs, it’s hard to score at that rim. Very, very difficult to score at the rim.”

Georgia Tech has fallen to 10-8 overall and 1-4 in the league, and the lineup has changed radically without Sylla. The Yellow Jackets have Ndonga at center, but played 6-7 small forward Kowacie Reeves and three guards with him.

Pacific point guard transfer Lamar Washington, sophomore shoting guard Jaeden Mustaf and freshman wing Akai Fleming started against Pitt.

“Washington is a good point guard,” Wade said. “So they’ve got a good team. Coach [Damon] Stoudemire does a great job with them. It’ll be a big challenge on Saturday.”

Backup center Peyton Marshall, a former NC State recruiting target, brings massive size off the bench at 7-foot and 300 pounds, but he played just six minutes against the Panthers and is coming back from a minor injury.

On3.com had Sylla ranked No. 18 overall in the class of 2025 coming out of Bella Vista College Prep in Phoenix, Ariz. He didn’t play traveling team ball, but was coveted by colleges. Sylla picked Georgia Tech over Washington, Oregon, Arkansas and Kansas among others.

Ndongo is averaging 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 25.4 minutes a contest. He’s shooting 55.1 percent from the field, and has three double-doubles for points and rebounds.

Ndongo had a career-high 29 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks in a 87-62 win vs. NC State on March 1, 2025.

RALEIGH – NC State men's tennis welcomes Campbell to Raleigh on Friday to commence the 2026 season. The two are scheduled to play a doubleheader starting at 12:30 p.m. and then 5:00 p.m. indoors at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.

Dual-Match Info • All tennis matches are played at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on NC State's campus in Raleigh and are free of charge for fans to attend - this match is set to be played indoors. • Parking for fans is available at West Deck off of Varsity Drive across the street. • Start times for the matches are slated for 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 16. • Those in attendance will be able to enjoy free donuts and coffee from Krispy Kreme (while supplies last). • Fans at home will be able to follow along with live scores here and the live stream here.

Series History with Campbell (leads 12-2) • Friday's match marks the 15th meeting between the Wolfpack and the Camels. • The two faced each other last season (January of 2025) in Raleigh, which resulted in a 7-0 win for the Wolfpack. NC State has not recorded a loss to Campbell since 2000.

Last Time Out // Last Season Recap NC State's 2025 campaign ended in the NCAA Sweet 16 match against Columbia in New York City. The super regional appearance marked just the third time in program history. The squad earned a No. 7 spot after the conclusion of the season, the highest final ITA ranking in program history. Cris James was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year and Martin Borisiouk was the ITA Carolina Region Most Improved Player and Player to Watch. Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek earned doubles All-America honors.

Quick Notes • The ACC holds eight teams ranked nationally, four of which are in the top-10 (No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Virginia, No. 9 NC State, No. 15 California, No. 17 Duke, No. 22 Florida State, and No. 25 Clemson). • NC State is scheduled to play nine teams featured in the ITA preseason rankings (No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Virginia, No. 9 NC State, No. 15 California, No. 17 Duke, No. 18 South Carolina, No. 22 Florida State, and No. 25 Clemson. • Head coach Kyle Spencer enters his ninth season at the helm of the Wolfpack. • The program welcomes four freshmen to their first collegiate spring season - Australia native, Charlie Camus, Canada native Miko Lapalme, Romania native Darius Pop, and Lithuania native Ainius Sabaliauskas.

Team Highlights • The squad begins the 2026 season with its second-highest preseason team ranking in program history at No. 9. The Wolfpack's highest preseason ranking was at No. 8 to start the 2021 season.

Individual Highlights • After the result of fall play, the Pack holds two players ranked in singles (No. 9 Martin Borisiouk and No. 85 William Manning) to start the spring campaign.

@PackMensTennis || #PackRisin

Ahold Delhaize USA has partnered with Blackstone Credit & Insurance to ensure that its planned grocery distribution center in Burlington, N.C., comes to fruition. The credit investor will invest $475 million in connection with a triple-net lease transaction to construct the highly automated facility.

The grocery retail group initially released its plans to build an $860 million state-of-the-art distribution center in Burlington in October 2025. This future facility will be used to deliver fresh and frozen grocery items to stores operated by southeastern grocery store chain Food Lion.

Under the triple-net lease agreement, Blackstone Credit & Insurance will own the facility and fund 100% of in-scope construction costs. Once construction is complete, Ahold Delhaize USA will lease the facility for long-term use, with an option to purchase the site in the future under pre-agreed terms.

The investment is structured to align the timing of costs with the long-term benefits of the facility. According to the food retailer, the long-term lease approach supports a project of this scale, reduces refinancing risk and enables Ahold Delhaize USA to deploy capital efficiently to advance major infrastructure investments.

“Through the new distribution center, ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation will expand their capacity to support Food Lion’s growth in the state, along with bringing new jobs," said JJ Fleeman, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA. "We continue to be very excited about locating this facility in North Carolina as we grow our presence in a state where our companies have done business for more than 65 years.”

Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026, with an anticipated start of operations in 2029. The site is expected to employ more than 500 associates within the ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation companies over time.

“We are pleased to support Ahold Delhaize USA and enable a critical long?term investment in its U.S. supply chain,” added Christopher Yonan, head of European infrastructure at New York-based Blackstone Credit & Insurance. “This investment reflects our focus on partnering with leading investment-grade corporations globally by providing flexible, low-cost capital through our credit and insurance platform.”

Blackstone Credit & Insurance’s Infrastructure and Asset Based Credit group manages more than $100 billion, as of Sept. 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, Ahold Delhaize USA continues to find ways to improve its omnichannel grocery delivery strategy. The company recently revealed that it was closing six centralized fulfillment locations in Pennsylvania and Virginia. The facilities served the Giant Food and The Giant Co. retail banners.

According to Ahold Delhaize USA, the decisions to close these locations were made after carefully considering customer trends and preferences for home delivery.

In addition to using in-store fulfillment for customers' e-commerce orders, Ahold Delhaize USA will continue relationships with third-party fulfillment partners like Instacart and DoorDash for delivery. Using this approach, the company can position each of its brands to deliver on customers' expectations for quick pickup and delivery options, and, where possible, in as little as 30 minutes.

Ahold Delhaize USA is a division of global food retailer Ahold Delhaize, which is based in Zaandam, Netherlands. Its U.S. brands -- Food Lion, The Giant Co., Giant Food, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop -- comprise the largest grocery retail group on the East Coast and the fourth largest in the nation when considered together. The company is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2025 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Ahold Delhaize USA one of its Retailers of the Century and among the 10 Most Sustainable Grocers of 2025.

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UPDATE: Less than one month after Lorena Awou was suspended from the team, she is no longer with the team and plans to transfer from the program.

Since her departure, NC State has gone on a five-game winning streak, including a 3-0 start to ACC play. The Wolfpack has used Mallory Collier as the depth piece at the center position.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State women's basketball sophomore center Lorena Awou has been suspended from the program indefinitely, according to head coach Wes Moore. The Wolfpack's coach announced Awou's suspension after she was not on the bench for the team in the 61-53 win over Seton Hall.

"We're just going through a time right now where she's kind of suspended for the moment," Moore said following the game. "We'll see where that goes."

Moore noted that it's an indefinite suspension with no date set for her return. She was not with the team for the game against Seton Hall inside Reynolds Coliseum.

Awou had only played in three games out of the first 10, averaging 3.3 points with 3.3 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per contest. She has not appeared in a game since Nov. 19 against Coastal Carolina where she had a season-high four points and five rebounds in the 71-58 win over the Chanticleers.

This comes after the 6-foot-5 post from East Moine, Ill. appeared in 31 games last season for the Wolfpack. She also put up nearly the same stats with 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 8.8 minutes, but played double-digit minutes in four of the last six games for the Pack in the postseason.

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