Athletics
Student seating key to Smith Center decision
Incoming athletic director Steve NewmAark and student body president-elect Devin Duncan discuss the student experience at Tar Heel games.
By Caroline Daly, University Communications and Marketing, Wednesday, March 11th, 2026
Improving student seating and overall game day experience is one of six guiding principles in the evolution of Carolina basketball and decisions around the Dean E. Smith Center. Steve Newmark, executive associate athletic director, and incoming student body president Devin Duncan joined the third episode of “The Arena Discussion” segment of the “Carolina Insider” podcast.
Whether Carolina renovates or builds new, moving students closer to the court is a priority in providing a more competitive home court advantage for the Tar Heels.
“We think that’s important for the overall atmosphere in the entire arena,” Newmark said. “We believe that we can get to a point where we’re able to get the students closer to the court than we currently have and not jeopardize the revenue opportunities that we’re going to be able to generate in a new or renovated arena.”
As part of rigorous studies into possible arena options, Carolina has explored student seating setups at several peer institutions, including the University of Connecticut, Michigan State University and the University of Kansas.
Currently, students have about 200 courtside seats on standing-room only risers along the baseline in sections 116, 117 and 118. The risers, added before the 2000-01 season, are the closest students get to the action.
Other student seating is in sections 105-107 and 114-118 in the lower bowl and parts of sections 205-213 in the upper bowl.
“There’s nothing like being closer to the court and being loud. I’m an out-of-state student, and I’d never been to a Carolina basketball game until I got to Carolina,” Duncan said. “One of my favorite experiences was when there was snow, and the University made the call for open seating. Seeing the people running down super close to the court, I remember remarking, ‘It’s almost as loud as the Duke game.’ The energy was unprecedented.”
Student attendance has slightly decreased over the past 20 years, Newmark said, now averaging around 3,000 per game. He partially attributed the decline to the growing availability of games on television and streaming services. More student seating is made available for Duke games, averaging about 5,400 students. That’s how many students attended the win against the Blue Devils in February.
Newmark recalled attending games at Carmichael Arena while growing up in Chapel Hill. The student seating experience there, when Carmichael’s capacity hovered around 9,000-10,000, made the atmosphere energetic and loud, something Carolina wants to capture in a renovated or new arena.
Students currently secure tickets through a lottery system and can improve their chances by attending other sporting events through Carolina Fever.
The best part of attending games, according to Duncan, is the proximity of the Smith Center to residence halls and academic buildings. Students can be at the Smith Center within minutes of finishing their classes or leaving their dorms.
The downside for students, he said, is not always being able to sit with friends when groups are split between lower- and upper-level seating. Students also feel there isn’t much to do around the Smith Center before or after games and often opt to go to Franklin Street to watch and spend time with peers, Duncan said.
“Wherever we end up, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got good transportation plans, ample parking, good ingress and egress, good pedestrian flow,” Newmark said. “All of that goes into the experience that Devin’s talking about and making sure there are opportunities for students to be engaged before, during and after the game.”
Moving to a new arena would allow Carolina to construct the ideal student seating configuration from scratch, with an emphasis on the lower bowl. The Smith Center renovation model could alter seating configurations and would need to consider permanent seat rights holders and endowment donors, who will continue to play a vital role no matter which option is chosen. How student seating factors in is a delicate balancing act still being discussed.
Carolina has engaged students in the process. Duncan is on the executive council of student government, which has had conversations about student experience. Outgoing student body president Adolfo Alvarez was involved in creating an advisory council to discuss how to protect, maintain and improve the student experience. Both have shared their thoughts with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts.
No matter which option is chosen, improvements will get students closer to the court and more heavily involved in the game.
See Also: https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article314892253.html
Continue/Read Original Article: Student seating key to Smith Center decision | UNC-Chapel Hill
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