Column: UNC-N.C. State game shows why the Smith Center should stay where it is
UNC students celebrate an announcement of "No Class Tomorrow" from the stands during the game against N.C. State at the Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. UNC won 97-73.
Fans flocked down to the Dean E. Smith Center like they typically would on any UNC basketball game day.
Some made the nearly 30-minute walk from Franklin Street. Others made the short journey from on-campus residence halls.
It’s a walk fans have made since the Smith Center opened on Jan. 18, 1986.
On Wednesday night, it was different. No cars jammed Skipper Bowles Drive. Only a few dared to make the trek on wheels. UNC students took over the arena.
It’s something that might not happen much longer. The University is considering plans to relocate the Smith Center off campus.
But Wednesday's game against N.C. State, where North Carolina dominated, 97-73, showed that UNC should leave the Smith Center exactly where it is.
Due to hazardous road conditions, the University announced that the game — for just the third time in UNC basketball history — would be general admission for those who could “safely walk to the game.”
Snow games like these have played a direct role in making the Smith Center what it is today. In 2000, UNC was slated to play Maryland, but 18 inches of snow postponed the game a day. North Carolina opened the doors for general admission.
Students packed the arena. And per a UNC spokesperson, that game directly led to the addition of courtside student risers.
Against N.C. State on Wednesday night, it was no different. Students filled the lower bowl, stragglers had to go to the upper bowl. "Tar" and "Heel" chants echoed through the Smith Center as the Wolfpack starting lineup was announced.
“One of the many reasons why I love the Smith Center [is] because the students can get here,” head coach Hubert Davissaid after the game on Tar Heel Sports Network. “They can just come down the hill and come to the game and support their fellow classmates.”
In September 2024, the University’s final report on potential new sites for a new basketball arena, completed by UNC’s Physical Master Plan Working Group, listed six options: Bowles Parking Lot, Odum Village, Friday Center, Carolina North, renovating the Smith Center or replacing it in the same location.
According to Inside Carolina, the school is leaning toward Carolina North, located on Estes Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
That's 2.7 miles away from South Campus. It would take over an hour for many students to walk that distance.
Sure, the plan calls for a bus system that would transport students — 3,000, to be exact — to the new location. But that takes away from everything that makes having an on-campus basketball arena special:
Dissecting the wins as one climbs up the hill on Skipper Bowles Drive. The somber crawls after a loss. Running to Franklin Street after defeating Duke.
On Wednesday night, the energy from students was clear from the start. And it didn't go unnoticed.
A student waves to the crowd after playing the National Anthem before UNC-CH's game against N.C. State at the Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. UNC won 97-73.
Before tipoff, students around the lower bowl sprang to their feet for "Jump Around."
Chants of "Cade" boomed as junior forward Cade Tyson checked into the game. The arena popped when he hit back-to-back threes — his first multi-three game since La Salle on Dec. 14.
And when "Swag Surfin'" came on? Large pockets of students around the lower bowl swayed back and forth, arms around each other.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
Junior guard Seth Trimblesaid it was one of the top three most fun games he’s ever played in.
“It was just a ton of fun,” Trimble said . “I give a bunch of kudos to students for them to come out in the middle of a snowstorm. They might not think that it goes a long way, but that really played a huge role for us today.”
Trimble’s sentiment echoed throughout other postgame interviews.
Graduate guard RJ Davissaid it felt like “young energy” was gifted to the Tar Heels. Junior forward Ven-Allen Lubinsaid it was electric and made him feel like the whole world was behind them. First-year guard Ian Jacksonnoticed the majority student crowd and noted that “they were loud the whole game.”
But should the Carolina North plan come to fruition, nights like these — where students come hell or high water — wouldn’t happen. Buses wouldn’t be able to take students to the game on icy roads. Even if conditions were perfect, the energy wouldn't be the same.
“The location of the Dean Dome is perfect for any UNC student,” first-year Reese Sharp, who attended the game against N.C. State, said. “And it doesn’t matter if you’re a first-year or not and you live close.”
Late in the first half, Chancellor Lee Roberts walked on the court for a brief announcement during a timeout.
“Classes for tomorrow,” he said, taking a long pause, “are cancelled.”
The students inside the Smith Center erupted. The band played "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond and voices signing along reverberated inside the arena.
The moment capped off an already special atmosphere.
If the University administration takes anything away from the game against N.C. State, it should be to renovate the Smith Center at its current location.
“Keep everything within walking distance," senior Kevin Gomezsaid. “We’re all here to support the Tar Heels, so I mean, keep it close to the students.”
