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The Hurricanes\u2019 signature Storm Surge celebration has been a common sight in Raleigh since Dundon took over, as Carolina has topped 100 points in three straight years. getty images <\/p>\nTom Dundon stands alone on the top level of a luxury box on opening night of the Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 2023-24 season. The team\u2019s owner leans forward on the counter in front of him, his blue eyes focused intensely on the ice at PNC Arena.<\/p>\n
Before entering the box that night, a visiting reporter is told by a team staffer, \u201cYou might not want to talk to him too much while the game is going on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tom Dundon, you see, loves owning the Carolina Hurricanes. But there\u2019s a reason he doesn\u2019t love going to games:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chance you might lose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
See more<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s at his 13,000-square-foot home outside Dallas, it\u2019s less of a problem. Dundon can simply turn off the game and be surrounded by his family.<\/p>\n
But in Raleigh, where he does not own a home, it\u2019s different. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to lose and then go back to the hotel,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fortunately for Dundon, the Hurricanes don\u2019t lose on this night, beating the Ottawa Senators before a sellout crowd of 18,893. For nearly three hours, Dundon keeps his attention on the game. During stoppages, he exchanges quick notes with former Hurricanes star and golf buddy Justin Williams, seated nearby, about subjects as specific as the faceoff strategy employed by Hurricanes coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night marks the start of another successful regular season, one that ultimately nets the Hurricanes\u2019 third straight campaign with at least 100 points, a first in the franchise\u2019s 45-year history. The playoffs start next week, and Carolina will be there for the sixth straight time, more than all the previous playoff appearances the franchise had made since relocating from Hartford in 1997.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With two trips to the Eastern Conference Final since 2019 but no Stanley Cup title since 2006, the Hurricanes are facing a Cup-or-bust postseason. That has become the norm since Dundon bought the team at a valuation of $420 million six years ago. The club\u2019s recent success includes averaging a franchise-record 19,526 fans per game in 2022-23, a figure boosted by a sellout crowd of 56,961 for an NHL Stadium Series outdoor game across the parking lot at N.C. State\u2019s Carter-Finley Stadium; this season they are averaging 18,798 per game, 100.6% of capacity at PNC Arena.<\/p>\n
And after long being the subject of relocation rumors, the team has a more secure future in Raleigh than ever. Last August, Dundon reached a deal to extend the team\u2019s lease through the 2043-44 season and to redevelop the land around PNC Arena into a transformative mixed-use development. By most estimates, the value of the Hurricanes has more than doubled since Dundon bought majority control of the team from longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr. (he became the team\u2019s sole owner in 2021 after buying Karmanos\u2019 remaining shares).<\/p>\n
Dundon\u2019s ownership of the Hurricanes is only part of what has become a substantial sports portfolio. In addition to being a key investor behind the rise of Topgolf prior to buying the Hurricanes, Dundon has become the most influential behind-the-scenes figure in the fast-growing sport of pick leball. He also briefly took over the Alliance of American Football, a spring football league he shuttered before the end of its first season in 2019.<\/p>\n
And now his deep pockets and swift success with the Hurricanes have made Dundon a top choice to be a potential lead investor for a group aiming to bring an MLB team to the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about potential candidates, but specifically one: Tom,\u201d said Tipping Point Sports CEO Mitchell Ziets, a consultant for the group led by former North Carolina State Budget Director Charlie Perusse and outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper. \u201cHe was clearly the top choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dundon, 52, went public with his intention to bring an expansion franchise to North Carolina in October, and while he\u2019s officially open to other locales across the state, he\u2019s made it clear that he\u2019d prefer to put the team in Raleigh. Whenever MLB does decide to expand \u2014 perhaps by the end of the decade \u2014 Raleigh will be up against trendier markets, including nearby Nashville, but will benefit from having a billionaire with a burning desire to win at everything he does.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing about Tom is he\u2019s super competitive,\u201d said Hurricanes Chief Marketing Officer Mike Forman. \u201cSo, if all of a sudden it\u2019s either us or another city that\u2019s going to get an MLB team, he\u2019s going to do whatever it takes to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes\u2019 signature Storm Surge celebration has been a common sight in Raleigh since Dundon took over, as Carolina has topped 100 points in three straight years. getty images <\/p>\n
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A few hours before the season opener, Dundon is sitting in his office at PNC Arena. His name is on the door, but clearly he doesn\u2019t spend much time there. The few decorative items \u2014 a couple of random framed action shots of Hurricanes players on one wall and an oversized team bobblehead flanking an empty desk \u2014 look as if they\u2019ve been plucked from arena storage to jazz up the otherwise sterile space, and a ringing landline phone catches him by surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know I had a phone,\u201d he says, irked by the presence of what he considers an anachronism in a modern workplace. \u201cI gotta ask why we put phones in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dundon\u2019s longtime friend Mark Molthan made the trip to Raleigh for opening night and is flying back to Dallas with him after the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Molthan is astonished when Dundon sits and answers questions for more than an hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s hard to get to know. He doesn\u2019t have a lot of good friends,\u201d Molthan said. \u201cI\u2019m surprised he sat there for that long \u2014 I was shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n
That description jibes with Dundon\u2019s reputation as one of the more enigmatic and eccentric figures in sports business. Several people contacted for this profile declined to talk about their business dealings with him. He usually avoids any press that puts him at the center of the story; Molthan chalked up his willingness to talk to SBJ to a desire to promote his MLB ambitions.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Dundon is close with his fellow NHL owners, Commissioner Gary Bettman said that \u201che likes to focus his energies and intentions and efforts on the Hurricanes and, frankly, if you\u2019re a fan of the Hurricanes, that\u2019s good news.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida Panthers owner Vinnie Viola, who considers Dundon a friend, said he and Dundon have bonded over their mutual penchant for using statistics to drive their business decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s actually kind of shy,\u201d Viola said. \u201cI don\u2019t think people see him that way, but I do. He\u2019s a family, stay-at-home guy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dundon, who has five children ranging in age from 7 to 22 with his wife of 23 years, Veruschka, spent more time in Raleigh than usual last summer to nail down the terms of the lease extension and redevelopment agreements. He visits a couple of times a month during the season for a day or two at a time \u2014 not quite as often as he did when he first bought the team and needed to fix things up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stay in a hotel, it\u2019s easier,\u201d he says of his visits to the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, later adding that he\u2019ll likely establish a residence in the new development around the arena once it\u2019s complete.<\/p>\n
Though he isn\u2019t a constant physical presence in Raleigh, he\u2019s far from an absentee owner.<\/p>\n
\u201cTom is very in tune with what\u2019s going on with his team,\u201d said Dallas Stars President Brad Alberts, who corresponds with Dundon regularly about both business and hockey. \u201cThe economics, salaries that are paid to players, the culture around his group \u2014 there is no question about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, Dundon is known as being among the most hands-on bosses in the league. He bristles at this characterization \u2014 \u201cI don\u2019t even live here,\u201d he says \u2014 but those he\u2019s closest to in the organization aren\u2019t afraid to say so.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou name it, he\u2019s involved in all of it,\u201d said Brind\u2019Amour. \u201cI don\u2019t think you have another owner in sports that\u2019s as involved in his team as he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bettman also characterized Dundon as \u201cvery hands-on,\u201d noting that his office often hears from the Hurricanes owner multiple times a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hockey operations people, our officiating people will hear from him if there\u2019s a call he\u2019s concerned about \u2014 after the fact, of course, not during the game,\u201d Bettman said. \u201cHe\u2019s always raising good questions about the collective-bargaining agreement and the salary cap and he\u2019s always trying to make sure that the Hurricanes are doing everything possible within the rules to get an edge.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Attendance has soared at PNC Arena under Dundon. getty images <\/p>\n
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Tom Dundon learned at an early age that he liked money \u2014 and he was willing to hustle to get it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to have money if I didn\u2019t have it,\u201d Dundon recalled. \u201cIt\u2019s always been enjoyable to me to figure out how to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dundon did not grow up wealthy. In fact, he says, \u201cI didn\u2019t know what Wall Street was. I didn\u2019t know anything more than being an electrician or whatever. I [thought I] would\u2019ve been much more blue collar \u2014 that\u2019s how I thought about the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dundon spent his early childhood in Atco, N.J., a small town 25 miles southeast of Philadelphia, as the youngest of two sons to a mother who worked as a secretary and a father who managed a few pizzerias.<\/p>\n
His family moved to Houston for two years before settling in Dallas when Dundon was 15. After graduating from Plano Senior High School, Dundon attended Southern Methodist University, where he kept a pair of needle-nose pliers handy to adjust the busted radio dial in his pick-up truck.<\/p>\n
After graduating with a degree in economics in 1993, Dundon\u2019s first professional venture \u2014 a burger restaurant called Izzy\u2019s \u2014 was a flop and shut down within a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was literally poor,\u201d Dundon recalled. \u201cI lived in my mom\u2019s one-bedroom apartment and had like 100 grand in debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few of Dundon\u2019s college buddies were working at the Frank Parra Autoplex, a large Chevrolet dealership in Irving, and suggested he come join them. He got a job in the finance office and learned about the business of auto loans. It clicked with Dundon\u2019s analytical, detail-oriented disposition.<\/p>\n
Soon, he and a few associates decided to start their own business that would work with dealerships to offer loans to buyers with bad credit. It was the early days of subprime auto lending, and that company, Drive Financial Services, soon found an edge against larger financial institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were competing with Capital One and Ford and General Motors and Chase \u2014 companies that seemed much smarter,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cBut we were able to gain an advantage with a little more entrepreneurial way to go about it, and then once you get larger, if you keep some of that efficiency in spirit, then it\u2019s easy to beat the big companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2006, Banco Santander bought 90% of the company for about $650 million. Instead of cashing out, Dundon kept his 10% share and became CEO of Santander Consumer USA. That company was spun off and went public in 2014 at a valuation of more than $8 billion. Dundon stepped away from the company a year later and, in 2017, reached a settlement agreement that netted him $713 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By this point, Dundon had already dipped his toe into the sports industry with an investment in Topgolf, which he says he chose primarily to get his kids as excited about playing golf as he is. He currently owns 10% of the business, which he helped elevate into the \u201ceater-tainment\u201d behemoth with more than 80 outposts nationwide.<\/p>\n
A few years after Santander, however, Dundon sought a new passion project.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was either going to buy a company to fix \u2014 I like to try to figure out what\u2019s broken \u2014 or buy a sports team,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes fit both criteria. When he received a call from a banker about purchasing the team in 2017, Dundon didn\u2019t even know where they were located.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought they were in Charlotte,\u201d he admits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say Dundon was a stranger to hockey. He inherited his father\u2019s New York Rangers fandom as a child and, decades later, was a Dallas Stars season-ticket holder.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when the Hurricanes came to Dallas, it was a game I wouldn\u2019t go to,\u201d Dundon said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes weren\u2019t that popular in their own city, either. The club averaged a league-worst 11,776 fans during the 2016-17 season en route to an eighth straight season without qualifying for the playoffs. Their unexpected Stanley Cup title in 2005-06 was becoming a distant memory.<\/p>\n
Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell remembers welcoming Dundon for his first visit to PNC Arena as a prospective buyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had like 3,000 people \u2014 it was preseason,\u201d Waddell recalled. \u201cAnd he says, \u2018This looks like a disaster.\u2019 I said, \u2018Well, it\u2019s not great, but it\u2019s better than this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
By that point, Dundon had already explored purchasing a few other teams, including the Carolina Panthers, Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets \u2014 each of which ultimately sold for north of $2 billion \u2014 as well as a professional soccer team he can\u2019t recall offhand. He was ready to make a deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see it as good investment,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cIt\u2019s worked out very well, but when I did it, I was trying to figure out how much I was willing to lose to do something that I really enjoyed. I was lucky enough to be in a position where that number was greater than zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dundon has been unafraid to crank up the pressure on people he negotiates with. getty images <\/p>\n
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Dundon\u2019s attire is typically the same every day: a sweatshirt-trackpants combination, often all black, with a matching Hurricanes baseball cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter if he\u2019s going to a league meeting or a hockey game,\u201d Waddell said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s in suits and stuff, he\u2019s in a sweatsuit. He couldn\u2019t care less, and that\u2019s what I like about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He may not dress like a sharp-elbowed businessman, but Dundon has nevertheless earned a reputation for taking a hardball approach to his running of the organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people around the league feel that way, but he wants to be fair,\u201d Waddell said. \u201cHe always wants to be on the good side of the fair deal, but he\u2019s told me multiple times when I was making deals, \u2018I just want a fair deal.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dundon\u2019s guiding principle, Waddell said, is that a player\u2019s price tag is \u201cworth the value that they bring.\u201d Hurricanes assistant general manager Eric Tulsky, regarded around the league as one of the foremost analytics experts, said Dundon \u201cwants every piece of information he can get\u201d to make that type of determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really comes down to strict discipline within the numbers,\u201d said Viola, the Panthers owner. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the most disciplined owners that I\u2019ve observed in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Off the ice, Dundon\u2019s cold calculations have led to the departure of two fan-favorite broadcasters who had been with the organization since its Hartford Whalers era. After the 2018 season, Dundon reportedly asked longtime radio announcer Chuck Kaiton to take an 80% pay cut to stay with the organization following the expiration of his contract. When he declined, Dundon decided to simply simulcast the audio of the team\u2019s television broadcast on the radio, something that several other NHL teams have also adopted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to put all the money on the ice,\u201d Dundon told a local sports radio show when the organization split with Kaiton.<\/p>\n
John Forslund, whose stint as the team\u2019s TV announcer also dated to its time in Hartford, is also no longer with the organization. The franchise stalwart, who has also worked on national broadcasts for NBC and TNT, said that when his contract with the Hurricanes expired in June 2020, Dundon gave him a take-it-or-leave-it offer. He declined to go into specifics on the financials, but said there was \u201czero negotiation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere obviously was no history with regard to how he viewed my position in terms of the number of years I was there, or what kind of impact I had on the community or what kind of job I did for that organization,\u201d said Forslund, who is now the TV voice of the Seattle Kraken. \u201cObviously, that meant nothing to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Brind\u2019Amour, who Dundon points to as the most important person to the team\u2019s turnaround, hasn\u2019t been spared the owner\u2019s tough tactics. Typically, NHL teams that plan to keep their head coach in the fold negotiate an extension prior to the last season of their current contract. Brind\u2019Amour, however, has coached the entire season on an expiring contract. He did the same in 2020-21 \u2014 a season in which he won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year \u2014 before signing a three-year, $1.8 million extension weeks after the team\u2019s playoff run ended; Waddell acknowledged that amount was \u201con the lower side\u201d for a coach\u2019s second contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s business and there\u2019s the personal side \u2014 he separates it,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said. \u201cI\u2019m assuming with our relationship and how things have gone, I don\u2019t think this will be too much of a problem, but I also know it\u2019s a business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dundon, however, said it\u2019s difficult to separate the personal from the professional when it comes to Brind\u2019Amour \u2014 so much so that he\u2019s taking an uncharacteristically hands-off approach to negotiating the coach\u2019s new contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very different when you\u2019re dealing with someone you care about, and it\u2019s weird if your relationship transcends the business part of it,\u201d Dundon said.<\/p>\n
Overall, though, Dundon believes he has softened over the years in his approach to negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realize how I\u2019ve been pretty lucky, and so I don\u2019t need to win [every negotiation],\u201d he said. \u201cI just need to be happy and to feel like it\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those outside the organization have had similarly challenging discussions with him. Centennial Authority Chairman Phillip Isley, whose agency serves as the Hurricanes\u2019 landlord at PNC Arena, said negotiating the new lease and redevelopment deal was bumpy. The Hurricanes will continue to pay property tax on state land, something Isley said typically \u201cdoes not happen,\u201d and that Dundon quickly agreed to build workforce housing as part of the mixed-use development around the arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Tom I enjoy talking to him 85% of the time,\u201d Isley said. \u201cHe laughed and said, \u2018If it was 100% of the time, I\u2019d be doing something wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early in his ownership of the Hurricanes, Dundon had his doubts about Raleigh. The Hurricanes were bleeding money and top players didn\u2019t want to play for them. On multiple occasions, Dundon broached the subject of relocation with Waddell. \u201cIn probably his first year and a half, we might have had two conversations about, \u2018Are there other places that might be better?\u2019\u201d Waddell said. \u201cAnd I kept saying, \u2018Let\u2019s give this a chance here.\u2019 Once we got to that point where we got the lease and attendance was getting better, he felt better that we can make it in this market and do well here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe Tom Dundon File
\nCEO \/ owner \/ governor, Carolina Hurricanes
Chairman \/ managing partner, Dundon Capital Partners (a Dallas-based private investment firm)
\nBorn: New York
Raised: Dallas
Education: SMU, bachelor\u2019s degree in economics (1993); president of Phi Gamma Delta
\n1994 \u2014 Opens Izzy\u2019s burger restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas
1996 \u2014 Begins working in finance at Frank Parra Autoplex in Irving, Texas
1998 \u2014 Joins with FirstCity Financial of Waco, Texas, to form FirstCity Funding
2000 \u2014 FirstCity Funding becomes Drive Financial Services after an investment from the Bank of Scotland
2004 \u2014 Bank of Scotland buys the remaining stake in Drive Financial
2006 \u2014 Banco Santander buys 90% of Drive from Bank of Scotland and some of the founders for about $651 million. Dundon retains a stake of approximately 9.7% and is appointed CEO of the newly named Santander Consumer USA.
2011-2021 \u2014 Becomes a major Topgolf investor and board member
2015 \u2014 Founds Dundon Capital Partners (DCP), a private investment firm
2015 \u2014 Named a director of OTO Development, a hotel development and management company
2016 \u2014 Becomes majority owner of Employer Direct Healthcare
2017 \u2014 Santander buys out Dundon for approximately $713 million after two years of structuring the deal
2017 \u2014 DCP acquires a stake in Redpoint Capital Group (an alternative credit manager); Dundon is named to Redpoint\u2019s board of directors.
2017 \u2014 Dundon is the leading funder of the construction and development of Trinity Forest Golf Club, which hosted the 2018 and 2019 PGA Tour AT&T Byron Nelson and features a private golf facility built for SMU\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s golf teams.
2018 \u2014 Acquires a majority stake in the Carolina Hurricanes
2019 \u2014 Agrees to invest up to $250 million into the new eight-team Alliance of American Football league and is named chairman. Eight weeks into what was scheduled to be a 10-week regular season, Dundon suspends operations. The league files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on April 17. As lawsuits pile up, Dundon indicates that he has invested a total of $70 million in the league.
2021 \u2014 Callaway acquires Topgolf for $2.5 billion ($1.986 billion plus assuming Topgolf\u2019s net debt of $555 million). Dundon is named to Topgolf Callaway Brands\u2019 board of directors upon completion of the merger and owns approximately 10% of the combined company\u2019s outstanding shares of common stock.
2021 \u2014 DCP becomes majority owner of the Professional Pickleball Association, as well as the sport\u2019s largest e-commerce site and tournament organizing software.
\n2024
\nFebruary \u2014 Major League Pickleball and the Professional Pickleball Association complete their long-awaited merger and form the United Pickleball Association.The consolidation brings a $75 million investment from a group that includes Dundon (the PPA Tour\u2019s majority owner) and private equity firm SC Holdings.
April \u2014 Hurricanes reach the postseason for the sixth time in the six years of Dundon\u2019s ownership.
\n\u2014 David Broughton\n<\/p>\n
These days Dundon is all in on the City of Oaks. While he still doesn\u2019t own a home in the area, he\u2019s signed a 20-year lease extension that will keep the Hurricanes at PNC Arena and plans to lead an $800 million development of the surrounding area. Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin called it the \u201cbiggest economic development project in the history of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTom Dundon has done a fantastic job of actually getting some really good, solid information on our economic growth potential to where he\u2019s recognized that,\u201d Isley said. \u201cTo his credit, he wants to benefit from that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest testament to Dundon\u2019s faith in the market is his commitment to lead an effort to bring an MLB expansion team to the area. While MLB has yet to launch a formal expansion process, multiple reports suggest the league will be seeking a fee of around $2 billion when it decides to add franchises. Despite his success with the Hurricanes, Dundon still doesn\u2019t view buying a sports franchise as a great financial investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not outsmarting anybody by buying a team right now, and it\u2019s going to be worth way more money,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cIt would be a great investment for me, because I\u2019d enjoy it, but it wouldn\u2019t be the best use of my capital.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike the Hurricanes, Dundon said he most likely wouldn\u2019t own 100% of the MLB team.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can get a public-private partnership to build a great stadium, and I think the people would support it,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cThe revenues would do really well here, and we could sell tickets and sponsorships to be of value to Major League Baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isley, who is overseeing the development around PNC Arena for the state, said that unlike other markets, Raleigh doesn\u2019t have the \u201csports building fatigue\u201d that comes with funding several major publicly owned professional sports facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would absolutely be the cherry on top if it was located somewhere near our facility,\u201d Isley said. \u201cThis really could be the next great entertainment district in the South.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte, Mexico City, Montreal, Nashville, Portland and Salt Lake City are all likely to be on MLB\u2019s radar when the league decides the time is right to expand, but Raleigh\u2019s reputation as a professional sports market in 2024 is stronger than it\u2019s ever been, and much of the credit for that is due to Dundon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing a great job in a market that some people many years ago questioned,\u201d Bettman said. \u201cBut nobody does anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Dundon stands alone on the top level of a luxury box on opening night of the Carolina…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5107],"tags":[20012,20013,194,29,20014,5176,20015,4936,5,572,195,18736,560,4,25,7175,9041,234,197,268,20016],"class_list":{"0":"post-111251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-hurricanes","8":"tag-brooklyn-nets","9":"tag-capital-one","10":"tag-carolina","11":"tag-carolina-hurricanes","12":"tag-carolina-hurricanes-hurricanes","13":"tag-carolinahurricanes","14":"tag-chevrolet","15":"tag-general-motors","16":"tag-hockey","17":"tag-houston-rockets","18":"tag-hurricanes","19":"tag-journal","20":"tag-mlb","21":"tag-nhl","22":"tag-ottawa-senators","23":"tag-pnc-arena","24":"tag-portfolio","25":"tag-seattle-kraken","26":"tag-stars","27":"tag-tnt","28":"tag-topgolf"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114797508537090826","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}