I guess the other question would be, ‘Can the RCC expansion and Red Hat vertically occupy the same block?’
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Based on this:
The answer is no. But hopefully the new location has essentially the same great view.
And a permanent, purpose-built venue will be pretty great. Red Hat does feel bare-bones in terms of the actual concert-enjoying experience.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s moved to the lot directly to the south and maybe flip the stage/seating. Not necessarily a personal preference but a guess.
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Sir, please stay on topic. 
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To me, the obvious possibility would be to move it two blocks south, in the land where Dawson and McDowell split. Address, 325 W South St.
The City of Raleigh already owns this land.
Most of the street frontage is basically the Dawson/McDowell median, so there’s little lost potential for an active streetscape, other than the 200’ along South (which is enough for an entrance pavillion but not much more.) Back-of-house facilities (loading docks etc) could be at the southern end. It’s also separated from downtown by the railroad embankment which could help with noise abatement and acoustics. I would also like to see some earth moved to lower the front row and raise the back row (Redhat is a little flat for my liking.)
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This looks like it would result in a smaller footprint and would need a LOT of work for better ped access. Doable, but not so much the footprint.
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It’s a bit smaller but seems pretty comparable overall.
The big win is putting a facility that is a deadzone most of the time in a spot that’s still quite accessible but difficult to develop for other uses.
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I would really like something like Rabbit Rabbit in Asheville. Didnt sit there, but they had lofted seating in the back so when you come in the entrance, you walk underneath. I’m pretty sure the sq footage was smaller than Red Hat but the standard rectangular area may be more conducive.
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This configuration yields an area for seating and circulation of 1.3 acres, which compares well with the 1.25 acres (by my measurement) at Red Hat.
Key:
Orange: access, outside circulation, and entry gates
Purple: restrooms and concessions
Blue: seating area
Green: stage
Red: back-of-house
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If it ever gets moved / rebuilt — it’d be nice if the city was the backdrop of the stage from the crowd perspective, rather than the performer perspective 
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I think doing that might make this site unworkable.
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I would tend to agree BUT, still…perfect worlds and all…
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Wonder if then will NCDOT allow some sort of tunnel through the RR embankment and have ticketing, merchandise, bathroom, and food facilities on the other side?
Actually now that I think about it the current rail bridge only supports 1 track and the commuter rail plans expects double tracking so this rail road section will need to be changed. Maybe they can convert it to a concrete bridge over the property. That would free up a lot of place here.
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Long term the vertical structures within the Downtown South pods would be the backdrop to a southern stage location.
Not city skyline but at least something.
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Take Cary’s Koka Booth, plop it down here, and it fits like a glove.
Try to pivot it and we’re in OJ Simpson territory.
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Nice juxtaposition!
Just as a ballpark capacity check Koka Booth is listed as 7K capacity compared with Red Hat’s just under 6K capacity. So roughly equivalent for utility and market niche.
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Koka Booth is a different kind of facilitiy, with no permanent seating and a massive lawn. But that said, aside from the location (which admittedly matters a lot) I find it to be overwhelmingly superior to Red Hat.
I do think that many of Redhat’s shortcomings are due to it being a “temporary” facility, so if Raleigh were to put something permanent here, they would likely address many of those issues.
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Plus we’ll have all the Park City buildings popping up behind the southerly oriented stage. And who knows what else may end up popping up along Lake Wheeler Road as Dix becomes more and more developed over the years.
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Great point. I wasn’t even thinking about all the proposed development on that block.
I am loving the idea of a permanent Red Hat in DTR, even if it moves to a different block.
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