CHAPEL HILL — Winning basketball games, student access and proximity to the court and fan experience will drive the final decision on North Carolina’s future basketball home, the school’s top official said Thursday after some of the biggest names in Tar Heel men’s basketball history publicly supported renovating their current arena.
Chancellor Lee Roberts said he aims to have as inclusive a process as possible, but ultimately the decision will be driven by those factors. He told WRAL earlier in the week that no final decision has been made.
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“Those are the considerations that we'll be keeping in mind as we try to make the best decision that we possibly can about the arena,” he said.
The Tar Heels play in the 40-year-old Dean E. Smith Center, a cavernous building at the far south end of campus where the team has won more than 500 games and created countless memories but one that is in desperate need of repairs, renovations and lacks the amenities of more modern venues.
The university is considering at least six options for its basketball future, including renovating the Smith Center or moving to Carolina North, an undeveloped tract of university-owned land located less than two miles from main campus.
The UNC board of trustees this week approved $8 million for initial site planning and pre-construction at the Carolina North site. Phase 1 of the project is expected to include student housing, academic and research buildings, a hotel and retail space.
A decision on what to do about the basketball arena, which was expected by the end of 2025, has been delayed indefinitely. Roberts on Wednesday announced two new committees — one composed of basketball folks and one composed of students — to further examine the issue. Roberts told WRAL earlier in the week that "there's no perfect solution."
“There is a commitment on behalf of the administration to run as inclusive a process as possible here and make sure that we're getting as many people around the table as we can and hearing from as many voices as we can,” said Roberts, who became chancellor in 2024. “And I think that the passion that you're hearing now is a good thing. It's a positive. It shows the commitment of Carolina Nation to Tar Heel basketball. I'd be much more worried if people didn't care.”
Former coach Roy Williams, who won three national titles with the Tar Heels and for whom the court is named, has publicly supported keeping the arena on campus. Williams said that was the wish of the late Smith, who coached UNC from 1961 to 1997. As has former national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough. Students at Wednesday’s home game against Notre Dame held up copies of an advertisement, saying “Renovate. Don’t Relocate.”
Williams and Hansbrough released videos on a social media channel called Smith Center South. The group has a website (RenovateSmithCenter.org) and an online petition that has been signed by more than 16,000 people.
Without the support of Williams and Hansbrough — and other former UNC players who have been vocal on social media about remaining in the Smith Center — it could be difficult to raise money for a new off-campus arena. Williams said he wants Carolina basketball to be different and to be special.
“Everybody loves and respects Coach Williams and Tyler Hansbrough,” Roberts said. “They're two of the biggest names in the history of our program. One has his name on the court, the other has his jersey hanging in the rafters and his name in the record books. So their views deserve a lot of weight, perhaps more than most.”
Earlier in the week, Roberts outlined to WRAL why Carolina North could be the right move.
"The advantage to Carolina North is you could build a new arena with modern amenities, with premium seating, which would certainly help us on the revenue side,” he said. “Everyone’s trying to figure out how to generate more revenue. We could address this and we could address the considerable traffic and parking issues that we have at the current Smith Center location.”
But Roberts, unprompted at the end of a scheduled media availability Thursday, went further in describing in detail the key factors in the decision.
Winning: “First, and by far the most important, how do we win as many basketball games as possible at a time when that's becoming more expensive for everybody?” Roberts said.
“How do we put the most elite team on the court that we possibly can? We can all think of examples of universities that have tremendous history and tradition. Many of them play in fantastic arenas, but they're no longer considered elite because they didn't keep pace. They didn't continue to innovate.”
Students: “Secondly, how do we get as many students in the arena and as close to the court as possible?” he said. “It's their program. It's their team. It's what makes college basketball so great, and it also makes it a tough place to play. What helps a competitive advantage in a basketball arena is the students on their feet and hollering, not people like me chatting to their friends and looking at their phones.”
Many of the best seats at the Smith Center are occupied by long-time season-ticket holders, held by those or the family members of those who helped to finance the building's construction.
Fan experience: “And then third, the fan experience," Roberts said. "So 40 years ago, there were a lot fewer options. We didn't have a hockey team in town. The Lenovo Center didn't exist. People didn't have giant 4k screens in their basements. And so what you're seeing for similar arenas, similar venues around the country is an effort to try to upgrade and enhance the fan experience, to get people to fight the traffic, deal with the parking, get out of their living rooms and their rec rooms to come cheer on the Heels. And that's what we want.”
Current star freshman Caleb Wilson said the Smith Center was a key part of his decision to play for the Tar Heels, citing the capacity of nearly 22,000 and the platform it provides him.
“It’s beautiful,” he said Wednesday night. “Even sometimes when I’m driving to practice or something like that, when I’m up on the hill, you look down and see the Smith Center, it’s just like, ‘Dang, that’s where I’m going to be playing at.’ It’s kind of really cool. It’s a beautiful arena, a beautiful court, and it’s historic.”
Coach Hubert Davis, who played in the Smith Center under Smith, said the arena is about more than just basketball to him.
“Obviously I love this place,” he said Wednesday. “This is home to me. I've said this before: This is where I went to school, and this is where I played. But it's much more than just basketball for me. Smith Center is home for all the relationships and the conversations that I've had here. Every time that I come in and work, I can remember every conversation interaction that I had with Coach Smith and Coach [Bill] Guthridge, Coach Williams, all my roommates, my teammates, my friends. Chapel Hill is where I fell in love with my wife, where we got married, where I became a Christian. And Smith Center is basically home plate for that.
“But I love the leadership of Chancellor Roberts, and I love him being chancellor of this school, and I just love working for him.”
