RALEIGH, N.C. _ They gathered under a big tent near a large hole in the ground for a major announcement:
The National Hockey League was coming to North Carolina.
In a press conference on May 6, 1997, Peter Karmanos Jr. said he was moving his hockey team, the Hartford Whalers, to Raleigh and renaming it the Carolina Hurricanes.
"This is a market where the people have a good feeling about themselves, have a good feeling about the future," Karmanos said that day. "I think they want a sports team here as a quality-of-life issue, something they can identify with."
There was no Raleigh arena, only the hole where it was to be built. Few in Raleigh had heard of Karmanos or knew many or any of the players.
But, by God, the NHL was coming to Raleigh ... that is, after two years playing in Greensboro while that new Raleigh arena was being built to house both N.C. State basketball and hockey, from the start seemingly an uneasy alliance.
Twenty years later, the Hurricanes are a part of the sports fabric of the community and state. Karmanos is still the team owner, although saying he might just sell, and still lives in Detroit. The team plays at PNC Arena, ne RBC Center, ne Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Among the many banners in the arena is one that has "2006 Stanley Cup champions." The Hurricanes won North Carolina's first and only major-league championship while Charlotte has a couple of teams _ the Panthers, the Hornets _ still trying.
The 20 years have provided a lot of other firsts. Here's a look:
