Raleigh Convention Center Unveils $400M Expansion Designs

Hold onto your Red Hat. The Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex released renderings for the Raleigh Convention Center expansion – which includes moving the 6,000-cap Red Hat Amphitheater to a new location a block away.

The proposed expansion will double the capacity of the convention center with a second building planned for the current site of the exiting amphitheater across the street.

The new convention facility adds an additional 298,100 square feet of meeting space, bringing the center’s total square footage to 798,100. The expansion gives the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex (The Complex) the ability to attract bigger events – including booking simultaneous conferences. Adding to the profile of the growing entertainment district is a planned Omni Hotel with 600 additional rooms scheduled to open in 2026.

Kerry Painter, Executive Director of The Complex, which includes the convention center, amphitheater and the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh as well as the city-owned Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, thinks the total square footage is a “nice number for North Carolina.”

“I know there’s this whole world of footage competition going on,” offers Painter. “But for us, I think what’s perfect about it is that it is the right footage.”

Flexibility is a cornerstone of the new design. For example, the expansion includes a new 48,700 square foot flex hall that can serve multiple functions.

“It can do all the things,” explains Painter. “It can be an X-hall if we want it to, but it can also be a beautiful keynote, or elegant dinner. So that really lets you multi-task the space. What we are building are the things we needed.”

This expansion will allow the facility to host events and conferences they were previously unable to accommodate while providing returning and repeat customers with the ability to expand and grow along with the center.  

The expansion is designed by architect joint venture RATIO | TVS and includes a new 18,000 square foot ballroom and 13 new meeting rooms and welcoming pre-function spaces. Painter said the design compliments the existing facility but has a personality of its own.

“We asked a lot of people, ‘Do you want it to be a twin or a cousin?’ And people said, ‘Cousin,’” explains Painter. “We don’t want it to be exactly the same, but we want them to work well together. I think they do.”

The existing calendar at the convention center will go on as planned during construction and when complete, the two buildings will be connected by two bridges.

The Red Hat Amphitheater’s schedule is unchanged throughout the 2026 season while the new site is under construction. The new venue is scheduled to open in time for the 2027 season, which runs from April through October. Live Nation operates the Red Hat Amphitheater as well as the Coastal Credit Union Music Park through a partnership with The Complex.  

Releasing the designs is a new milestone in the nearly $400 million downtown project with the Raleigh Convention Center expansion, the new iteration of the Red Hat Amphitheater and improvements to the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, which attract a combined one million visitors to Downtown Raleigh each year.

“It’s just remarkable this whole thing happening all at once – building a convention center and an amphitheater at the same time,” says Painter. “We’re excited. It’s beautiful. And I think it’s really going to compliment the downtown.”