North Carolina is a state of passionate sports fans. From college teams like the Tar Heels, Wolfpack and Blue Devils, to pro teams like the Panthers and Hornets, sports are deeply woven into the local culture. But only one professional team has brought home a major championship: the Carolina Hurricanes.
As Stanley Cup champions, the Hurricanes are more than a hockey team—they’re a symbol of excellence and community. Today, that spirit of innovation continues through a strategic partnership with Lenovo. Together, they’re transforming the team’s tech infrastructure to stay on the cutting edge of sports science and entertainment.
A Championship Legacy
The franchise’s roots go back to 1972, when the Hartford Whalers were founded. In 1997, they moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes. In 2006, the Canes made history by defeating the Edmonton Oilers and bringing home North Carolina’s first pro sports title.
Now, that same drive for greatness is powering the team’s digital transformation.
“We brought the only pro sports championship home to the state of North Carolina,” says Glenn Johnson, CIO of the Hurricanes. “And we won’t stop improving until we bring the Stanley Cup back.”
More Than a Partnership—A Shared Hometown
The Canes have always been a part of the North Carolina community—and so has Lenovo. Although a global tech leader, Lenovo’s western hemisphere headquarters sits just miles from the Canes’ arena in Raleigh.
“Lenovo is a member of our local community,” says Johnson. “With one of their two major headquarters located just down the road, they’ve been calling Raleigh home for over twenty years. It was our biggest strategic advantage to partner with them and take us to the next level.”
Renaming the home arena as Lenovo Center marked the beginning of an ambitious collaboration between two community pillars.
A Digital Backbone for Game Day and Beyond
Lenovo Center is a bustling ecosystem—complete with restaurants, retail, and offices—relying on seamless operations every day. That’s where Lenovo’s tech comes in.
Before the partnership, the Canes used a legacy three-tier infrastructure. Now, they operate with Lenovo’s hyperconverged ThinkAgile VX solution—boosting efficiency and enabling scalability.
“Lenovo’s intelligent devices and infrastructure solutions support just about everything we do,” says Doug Warf, President of the Hurricanes. “We’re on the precipice of a new tech world in the sports industry, and with Lenovo, we feel like we’re at the cutting edge.”
From arena apps and digital signage to mobile devices and office workstations, Lenovo powers the experience behind the scenes and in the stands.
“Every game, hundreds of employees work in tandem to deliver a great experience for our fans,” adds Johnson. “We couldn’t do that so successfully without our reliable Lenovo technology.”
Tech on the Ice: Driving Performance Through Data
Hurricanes players and coaches are also reaping the benefits of Lenovo’s tech. In today’s NHL, elite performance depends on advanced data—and Lenovo helps the Canes turn raw stats into strategic advantage.
With Lenovo’s ThinkAgile VX, coaches track player movements, puck paths, and gameplay dynamics in real time. Tablets on the bench put that intelligence directly into the hands of decision-makers.
“Speed is the name of the game,” says Johnson. “We need to calculate more data at a much faster rate. The faster we run the data, the more agile and nimble we can be with our decision making”.
“There are millions of data points that all have to be handled in real time,” explains Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the Hurricanes. “It’s amazing what these devices can do and how fast they process.”
A Vision for the Future
The partnership has already delivered dramatic results.
“This upgrade Lenovo has delivered has tripled the performance of key analytics workloads,” says Johnson. “We’re enabling our teams to complete jobs three times faster. This simplifies our data operation, allowing us to handle much faster speeds with virtually unlimited room to scale.”
But the vision doesn’t stop with the team—it extends to the entire community.
“In partnership with Lenovo and the city of Raleigh, we’re redeveloping the entertainment district around the arena,” says Warf. “We’re transforming it into a cutting-edge smart city with concert venues, retail, restaurants, and efficient parking arrangements. With this technology investment, we’re looking for new ways to excite our fans and bring them closer to the sport they love.”
From AR/VR experiences to next-gen suites, the Canes are aiming to make their home a flagship for innovation across North Carolina.
Chasing Greatness, Together
Amid all the innovation and growth, the team remains focused on its ultimate goal.
“Everything we do is for the fans,” says Tulsky. “And we won’t stop until we bring the Stanley Cup back to North Carolina!”