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Raleigh Convention Center Reopening Following December Fire
1/12/2026
RALEIGH N.C. – The Raleigh Convention Center is excited to announce its reopening to events this week following the Dec. 1 fire. The four events set to take place at the venue this week include software company Prometheus Group’s Sales Kickoff, the CHG Roadshow, Smartsheet user group, and City of Oaks Challenge Volleyball tournament. Reaching this reopening milestone quickly is a result of the tireless work by convention center leadership and staff, staff from across all departments of the City of Raleigh, contractors, and community partners. The convention center was able to retain approximately $4 million in revenue and 28,000 hotel room nights by reopening this week.
While the convention center’s kitchen is under repair, a temporary mobile kitchen has been set up in Red Hat Amphitheater. Construction on the temporary facility began on Wed. Jan. 7, and finished on Sun. Jan. 11. The mobile kitchen is approximately the same size as the permanent kitchen and features all the same equipment to ensure no gaps in functionality. The kitchen will be set up as long as needed, but it will be out before the beginning of concert season at the amphitheater.
“We’re so thrilled to have guests back in our building and thankful for all the planners who we’ve gotten to work with this past month to make sure their events can still happen. City of Oaks Volleyball was our first large scale event following the COVID-19 pandemic, so to have them in right now after this is special, that they’ve been part of several great comebacks with us,” said Kerry Painter, Executive Director of the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex. “We know how crucial these events are not only to us and our clients, but also to our partners at hotels and restaurants here in downtown Raleigh as well. Our team, other city departments, and our contractors have worked day and night for the last month to get here, and it’s incredible to see where we were on Dec. 1 and where we are today. We’re able to provide the same excellent service our clients expect with an innovative mobile kitchen setup in Red Hat Amphitheater. This is the same mobile kitchen used for incredibly large-scale, high-end events like Formula One racing, so we’re not just making do but continuing to operate at a really high level while our permanent kitchen undergoes repairs.”
The Raleigh Convention Center is bringing in a crane to help remove equipment from the roof following the fire. Two lanes of McDowell St. between Lenoir St. and Cabarrus St. will be used for crane work starting Thursday, Jan. 15, and ending on Sunday, Jan. 18. Officials at the convention center and the City of Raleigh have worked together to carefully plan this closure maximize safety for drivers and crews working to remove the equipment from the building. Traffic will quickly be restored to its regular pattern following the work at the facility.
For a full list of upcoming events, facility updates, and other information, please visit RaleighConvention.com.
About The Complex
The Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex ("The Complex") encompasses four city-owned and managed facilities that bring together residents, out-of-town visitors and a host of performing artists from around the country and the world.
In the heart of North Carolina’s vibrant capitol city, three of the four venues welcome some 1 million visitors to downtown Raleigh each year. The award-winning, 500,000-square-foot Raleigh Convention Center is a leader in innovation, sustainability and guest experience. Next door sits the city’s signature open-air music venue, Red Hat Amphitheater, with 6,000 seats and a buzzworthy schedule of musical performances.
A short walk away, the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts offers four unique theaters, seating from 150 to 2,369, and is home to resident companies Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera and PineCone. Beyond Downtown Raleigh, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek boasts a 20,000-person capacity amphitheater on 77 rolling green acres and regularly packs the house with big-name acts.
www.RaleighConvention.com/complex
Contact:
[email protected]
RALEIGH N.C. – The Raleigh Convention Center is excited to announce its reopening to events this week following the Dec. 1 fire. The four events set to take place at the venue this week include software company Prometheus Group’s Sales Kickoff, the CHG Roadshow, Smartsheet user group, and City of Oaks Challenge Volleyball tournament. Reaching this reopening milestone quickly is a result of the tireless work by convention center leadership and staff, staff from across all departments of the City of Raleigh, contractors, and community partners. The convention center was able to retain approximately $4 million in revenue and 28,000 hotel room nights by reopening this week.
While the convention center’s kitchen is under repair, a temporary mobile kitchen has been set up in Red Hat Amphitheater. Construction on the temporary facility began on Wed. Jan. 7, and finished on Sun. Jan. 11. The mobile kitchen is approximately the same size as the permanent kitchen and features all the same equipment to ensure no gaps in functionality. The kitchen will be set up as long as needed, but it will be out before the beginning of concert season at the amphitheater.
“We’re so thrilled to have guests back in our building and thankful for all the planners who we’ve gotten to work with this past month to make sure their events can still happen. City of Oaks Volleyball was our first large scale event following the COVID-19 pandemic, so to have them in right now after this is special, that they’ve been part of several great comebacks with us,” said Kerry Painter, Executive Director of the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex. “We know how crucial these events are not only to us and our clients, but also to our partners at hotels and restaurants here in downtown Raleigh as well. Our team, other city departments, and our contractors have worked day and night for the last month to get here, and it’s incredible to see where we were on Dec. 1 and where we are today. We’re able to provide the same excellent service our clients expect with an innovative mobile kitchen setup in Red Hat Amphitheater. This is the same mobile kitchen used for incredibly large-scale, high-end events like Formula One racing, so we’re not just making do but continuing to operate at a really high level while our permanent kitchen undergoes repairs.”
The Raleigh Convention Center is bringing in a crane to help remove equipment from the roof following the fire. Two lanes of McDowell St. between Lenoir St. and Cabarrus St. will be used for crane work starting Thursday, Jan. 15, and ending on Sunday, Jan. 18. Officials at the convention center and the City of Raleigh have worked together to carefully plan this closure maximize safety for drivers and crews working to remove the equipment from the building. Traffic will quickly be restored to its regular pattern following the work at the facility.
For a full list of upcoming events, facility updates, and other information, please visit RaleighConvention.com.
About The Complex
The Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex ("The Complex") encompasses four city-owned and managed facilities that bring together residents, out-of-town visitors and a host of performing artists from around the country and the world.
In the heart of North Carolina’s vibrant capitol city, three of the four venues welcome some 1 million visitors to downtown Raleigh each year. The award-winning, 500,000-square-foot Raleigh Convention Center is a leader in innovation, sustainability and guest experience. Next door sits the city’s signature open-air music venue, Red Hat Amphitheater, with 6,000 seats and a buzzworthy schedule of musical performances.
A short walk away, the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts offers four unique theaters, seating from 150 to 2,369, and is home to resident companies Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera and PineCone. Beyond Downtown Raleigh, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek boasts a 20,000-person capacity amphitheater on 77 rolling green acres and regularly packs the house with big-name acts.
www.RaleighConvention.com/complex
Contact:
[email protected]
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