PNC Puts Name On Arena

The last remnant of RBC Bank in the Triangle was removed earlier today. Governor Bev Perdue and others officially renamed the RBC Center the PNC Arena at a ceremony in Raleigh.

Dave DeWitt: Today, PNC officials and Governor Perdue were all smiles as the very last RBC sign came down, and a PNC Arena logo took its place. But tomorrow, the company is expected to start laying off employees in Raleigh and Rocky Mount – perhaps more than 600.

Governor Perdue says the job losses are a temporary setback.

Governor Bev Perdue: Don’t worry about the number count of jobs right now. We are working hard and aggressively to be sure we grow jobs and offer opportunity to every single current employee and it’s my belief that we’ll continue to build the platform so that they’ll end up being just like Wells Fargo and end up having more employees than they did when they made the acquisition.

PNC’s acquisition of RBC includes naming rights to the arena in which the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State men’s basketball teams play. In 2002, RBC paid $80 million for naming rights to the building for 20 years.