My source indicated that the Convention Center expansion into the Red Hat amphitheater lot is starting to move. Preliminary designs have the building cantilever over the road. Sounds pretty interesting, but no timeline yet.
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They should explore putting an amphiteater on the roof of the expansion.
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Yes, that is an excellent idea!!
They should also bring the side walk level from Salisbury, over McDowell to Dawson.
I am 100% in favor of keeping some kind of amphitheater in DTR. Would love something innovative like on the roof.
DTR lacks many of the downtown amenities peer cities have in their downtowns. We have no pro sports, no water feature, only a small amount of historic buildings, little mass transit, and the area’s best performing arts center is in Durham. We don’t need to lose our amphitheater.
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Glad to hear that if they are going to expand thar they are looking at cantilevering over the road and not messing up the street grid (which I am obviously a big advocate of). 
Dix will hopefully some day have an amphitheater and if Malik and Kane are going to request public funds for a soccer stadium hopefully that can be used for concerts as well. The acoustics at Red Hat are terrible, it bakes in the summer time and bleeds in to nearby neighborhoods. I really won’t miss it when it’s gone.
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Yes, I know the plan is for dix to eventually have an Amphitheater and if the MLS thing gets built that would be another one but for me that would still be a net loss bc those are not really walkable from downtown. We already have multiple amphitheaters that you can drive to in the area with Koka Booth and Walnut Creek.
I like to be able to go downtown and then make an evening of it without having to drive between places. Downtown has good places to eat and drink but not really very many other activities. And I would just hate for us to lose one. I know Red Hat doesn’t have the best acoustics because it was built on the cheap as a temporary venue. But if they did a first-class job by putting it on the convention center roof or something like that I think the best solution is to leave it downtown. Just my opinion.
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I don’t see the amphitheater on the roof happening. It would be a logistical nightmare and that’s far too bold for Raleigh. I think downtown is way too small to have the land Red Hat occupies sit unused for over half the year. Amphitheaters at Dix and the soccer stadium, should they get built, could be easily reachable by shuttle from downtown. Plus both venues should they be built will have their own restaurants and bars nearby. Dix with whatever is in the park and S Saunders and the stadium with Kane’s North Hills South.
And there would still be the possibility of there being pop up concerts held around downtown like before Red Hat was around. Maybe at Moore Sq, City Plaza or somewhere else.
I don’t disagree that there is likely a better place for an amphitheater than Red Had, but your alternative suggestions completely ignore the issue of capacity! None of these places fill the market for a 5-6k crowd. In fact, Red Hat is one of only a couple in the whole Triangle that do… the only other I can think of is Koka Booth in Cary.
I definitely think it’s feasible that the amphitheater at Dix could have a similar capacity, but none of the other places you suggested are feasible replacements for the kinds of acts that are too large for Cat’s Cradle/Haw River Ballroom/The Ritz/DPAC but too small for PNC or Walnut Creek or the future soccer stadium. So, a good portion of all the music I listen to would likely just skip over Raleigh, unless Dix fills this spot in the market.
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Do you really think the NCDOT would ever allow traffic flow on their downtown freeway to be interrupted? 
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That’s why I said Dix and the soccer stadium. Red Hat was built as a temporary venue. It’s going away at some point and it will be near impossible to replace with something the same size within the confines of downtown because there really isn’t any space.
An indoor/outdoor venue like Stage AE in Pittsburgh could be a good solution if someone could find space for it. Then it could at least host shows year round.
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Boylan HOA would never have it!
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Red Hat is the only descent outdoor venue in the area. Any of the proposed options at Dix are not going to be walkable like Red Hat is. You also lose the space as an option for events like Hopscotch. It will be sad to see it go for another poorly designed convention center space, that will more than likely have to continue to be subsidized
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I totally agree that getting rid of Red Hat is a big mistake. It’s an asset for downtown that the convention center doesn’t replace. Dix Park concert venue won’t offer the walkability for events like hopscotch and bluegrass festival.
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I agree. It is obviously in the city’s long-term plan to replace the Red Hat Amphitheatre but I think that is going to be a real shame. I know people sometimes criticize Red Hat’s sound but I am really going to miss the fact that it is the only walkable amphitheater in the area.
A replacement venue in Dix Park will likely be a nicer actual amphitheatre but being in the park is not going to be the same as having one downtown.
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If we are going to keep RedHat, can we please get on with that decision so that it looks like a venue befitting a forward looking and fast growing city? It looks every bit the temp solution that it is. Frankly, it looks no better than something that might get set up for a week long music festival. No, let me take that back, I’ve seen better looking one-week temp venues.
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lol this may be a (EDIT to correct Auto-correct --reticulated) ridiculous suggestion but um maybe could talk state into putting an outdoor amphitheater on Halifax mall?? The would still be walk-able and surrounding building are empty at night and weekends so less complainants about noise. Would also make a great place for protests.
PS - Although “reticulated” could possibility describe the web of issues that would be brought up by this suggestion
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The claim that Dix will work because it will have a shuttle seems a little short. Tons of people walk from all over downtown from where they work, live, do other things to go to Red Hat and there’s enough places to eat and drink that they all work well together. This kind of synergy/density will likely never happen at Dix and especially not at the proposed stadium site. A handful of restaurants and bars isn’t the same thing, and a “shuttle ride” away isn’t as seamless and quick as it’s made to sound (and will likely have to deal with some congestion of its own even with dedicated lanes). I know Dix has a number of improvements on the way, but if any of the previous festivals and events are any indication, it’s way behind where some people think it is and even the improvements in the master plan won’t get it to where the boosters think it will (folks that I’ve noticed live the closest to it, and have an ever-growing wish list). Dix is great for some other purposes, but neither it nor the opportunity zone stadium proposal are decent replacements for having something like Red Hat within our downtown
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I still like someone’s early proposal of putting a new Amphitheater on top of the CC addition.
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People like to talk about Dix as Raleigh’s Central Park, but it’s a far cry from being central to the core of the city. At best, it’s core adjacent, and will likely be so for all of our lifetimes. Not only is it not in the core, it’s separated by a road that functions more like a highway than it does a city street (Western). It will never be as walkable as the current RedHat venue.
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