RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — As Raleigh’s population continues to grow, Mayor Janet Cowell is making the pitch to state and federal officials about the need for further support.

“You see cranes in the sky. You see construction. You see bulldozers. This is all positive,” Cowell said. “I know a lot of the sentiment becomes, well, ‘Raleigh’s so wealthy, those people can pay for everything themselves. They’re booming.’ (I’m) just convincing them that we want to do our part. We are investing, but we really need the partnership with the state and the federal government, because even with the increase of prosperity in this area, as you saw on Six Forks and other projects, the 50% increase in land values over a short period of time plus inflation meant some of the traditional models of building infrastructure just weren’t working as well under that cauldron of of issues. We do need assistance on big projects like bus rapid transit, major highways, bridges.”

Lawmakers on Jones Street have not yet passed a full budget, as local cities await to learn funding priorities.

“It’s a big question mark. How much does the city and the local level need to do, and what is the state going to contribute?” said Cowell.

Cowell addressed a crime report provided by Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce on Wednesday, which showed decreases in most crime statistics, though violent crime remained flat year-over-year.

We want to make sure our economics are solid enough that we are a contender to host a Major League Baseball team.

– Janet Cowell, Raleigh mayor

“It’s the quality of life stuff that I hear the most about,” said Cowell.

Earlier this year, the city passed a budget that did not include a property tax increase. Cowell is hopeful that outcomes from public-private partnerships, such as Gipson Play Plaza at Dix Park, will attract crowds and spur economic activity.

“Many people are like, ‘Well, it’s a park. Why are you spending all this money on a park?’ You look at that from an economic development perspective, and I mean (there’s) literally billions of dollars coming in around that park. It is a wise public investment that’s going to catalyze a lot of private investment, and I think that’s the strategy around Lenovo Center, the Convention Center, Red Hat,” said Cowell.

The project, which was funded by the 2022 parks bond, philanthropic contributions, and additional city funding, has already drawn large crowds since opening in June.

“I used to work on the campus before I retired, and so it’s amazing to see how it has transformed,” said Sheri Botts, who visited the park Thursday.

“Look at Cary and their park. There’s condos everywhere. There’s people always out. Restaurants are doing great. I think it’s a big investment and it should pay off,” added Beth McGinnis, who also visited the park.

More entertainment options

Another strategy to spur investment includes attracting festivals to Raleigh.

“People want to be in this market. Live Nation, AEG, they all want to be here. How do we maximize that locally? We’re doing well, but I think we could coordinate better,” said Cowell.

Loren Gold, Executive Vice President of Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, described some of the challenges the organization faces.

“I think that the whole reason that we’re trying to bring a couple of different organizations together under the city’s direction and Mayor Cowell’s direction is what do we want that objective strategy to be? Where do we want boundaries? We want a smaller event, medium event, big event. How many is too many big events in any given year?” said Gold. “Again, looking at public safety, logistics, housing, a variety of other things going on so really lay out the 12 months and look at the gaps where there may be opportunities we’re trying to find to bring from another city here to our city to fill that gap or to build something organically with maybe a local curator that really wants to kind of amplify an event.”

With Dreamville being reimagined and the IBMA’s leaving, there are conversations surrounding future events.

“I do believe it would be in the best interest of the city and the county as a whole to lay out all the big events. Where do they fall, what time of the year, what audience are they attracting?” said Gold.

Data from VisitRaleigh showed across Wake County last year, hotel lodging and tax collections were up 7.7% over 2023, prepared food and beverage tax collections up 4%, and hotel occupancy increased by 1.8%.

For years, the city has faced questions over its ability to host major events because of a lack of available space and hotel rooms. The expansion of the Raleigh Convention Center and building of the new Omni Hotel downtown are set to help greatly in that regard.

“My hope is that we continue to accent this kind of almost campus feel that we have between the Convention Center, between Red Hat, between the Performing Arts Complex, where the Omni will be anchored, and then the other hotels that are already on Fayetteville Street. So there is ample opportunity to, again, either build or bring events that can kind of fit in multiple venues,” said Gold.

A sports (baseball?) hotbed

One major draw to the Triangle continues to be athletics. Last year, the NHL set an attendance record, with the Carolina Hurricanes selling out every game at the Lenovo Center.

“We definitely see the value of sports in Raleigh,” said Cowell.

That includes the prospect of attracting a Major League Baseball team to the Capital City, an idea that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has publicly expressed interest in.

“I think our goal with baseball is to always be ready. We don’t know what Major League Baseball is going to do, but our plan and what our owner wants us to do is do our due diligence and be ready when the opportunity arises. I think our market has grown a lot,” said Hurricanes President Doug Warf.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has previously stated he’d like the announcement of two expansion teams before 2029, preferably one on the East coast and one on the West coast.

“We want to make sure our economics are solid enough that we are a contender to host a Major League Baseball team. And that goes back to these economics of property tax base, the amenities investing in the infrastructure,” said Cowell.

“Raleigh is going to be one of the finalists on the East Coast at the end of the day,” said Lou Pascucci, the co-founder of the grassroots group MLB Raleigh.

He cited data in the city’s favor.

“Population radius, census radius, and you look at population within a certain amount of miles, there’s a ton of people here. Media market looks great. Raleigh’s 22nd (largest media market). Just basically any metric that you want to go down the line on, Raleigh is ahead of any of the expansion contenders,” Pascucci explained.

He also noted that North Carolina is the most populous state in the country without a Major League Baseball team, and compares favorably to Nashville, another destination viewed as a contender, when it comes to metro population and media markets.

“I think the momentum is shifting a little bit, and I think people feel that. I think part of that is you’re starting to see Raleigh’s name more in the national picture,” said Pascucci, as he referred to Raleigh’s inclusion on shortlists shared by other publications.

Further, he said he believes political support is present in helping aid a potential bid.

“That’s the one area in North Carolina where there’s been a lot of consensus. I think that because of the plan for this state (of) sports as an economic driver, seems to be a plan that everyone is agreeing on,” Pascucci said.

Past that, fan enthusiasm for the idea has grown through the years, with organizers hosting events drawing large crowds.

“The real success comes to the thousands of people that have touched this movement,” said Pascucci.

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