By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — With more than 100,000 Caniacs expected to pack downtown Raleigh on Saturday for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup victory parade, North Carolina lawmakers say it reflects just how much the hockey team’s support has grown since its first championship 20 years ago.
Read more Wake, Johnston, and Harnett County teens honored at Juneteenth scholarship pageant
The parade, which city officials say could be the largest in Raleigh’s history, will begin at 11 a.m. and end with a rally at City Plaza celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup Final.
“If someone had told you 20 years ago that a professional hockey team drew the kind of response that we’ve seen, not just in Raleigh and not just in Wake County, but across the state in North Carolina, you wouldn’t have believed it,” said North Carolina State Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham).
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has declared Saturday as the start of “Stanley Cup Summer.”
In Raleigh, Edward Mills Road between Wade Avenue and N.C. 54 will also be designated as “Hurricanes Highway.” Stein is also one of the scheduled speakers at Saturday’s rally.
“Stanley Cup Summer has officially begun,” the governor said. “The Hurricanes won the hardest title in sports as the consummate team, each player doing his job. Their victory unified the state, bringing together North Carolinians who hail from every corner of the state and who cheer for their own favorite college team. Today, we are all Caniacs! Sound the siren – it’s time to celebrate!”
State Rep. Lindsay Prather (D-Buncombe) said the expected massive turnout proves hockey can thrive in the South.
“I can’t wait to see the cup,” Prather said. “There’s always kind of been a sense in the rest of the country that people say hockey doesn’t belong in the South. I think we proved everyone wrong. There’s a bit of a sense of validation that hockey does belong here and it almost kind of feels like the good guys finally won. “
Prather, a self-described Caniac, said she and her husband will be hitting the road at 5 a.m. to drive from Asheville to Raleigh for the victory festivities.
Read more Boston, Scotland World Cup fans brought together in soccer kinship, celebration and love of beer
“This is Canes country. We are super, super excited. And just absolutely can’t wait. I think North Carolina really needed something positive to be able to rally around, and this is just exactly what we needed,” she said.
In a state known for fierce college sports rivalries, lawmakers say the Canes are a team everyone can support.
“We take our sports very seriously here in North Carolina,” said North Carolina State Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Durham). “And to say we can all unify and come together for the Hurricanes at this parade and be on the same team, it’s unique.”
“We’re used to having these rivalries in basketball in our universities. But the Carolina Hurricanes are a team that everybody can rally around and everyone can get excited about, no matter who they support in any other sport,” Prather said.
Lawmakers also said the Canes’ victory is fueling broader conversations about the state’s professional sports future, including whether the Triangle could eventually support a Major League Baseball franchise.
“We’re going to be the seventh most populous state when the next census comes out. We’re the largest state that does not have a Major League Baseball team,” said Berger. “If there is an opportunity for North Carolina to get an expansion baseball team, I’d love to see that. I am hopeful that will have an ability to put forward something sooner rather than later, that will give us that opportunity.”
Murdock, from Durham, agrees.
“Talks are heating up for an MLB team as a result of the success of the Canes. So we want to keep it going,” said Murdock.
Read more A year after smashing a locker, Wyndham Clark finds himself leading at another US Open