Chapel Hill Gears Up for UNC-Duke Homecoming Game

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – (November 2, 2009) – North Carolina’s homecoming football game against Duke is sold out on Saturday, November 7 (3:30 pm kickoff on ESPNU), there will be a homecoming parade for the first time since 1993 and Chapel Hill will be packed with football fans throughout the weekend.

As Butch Davis prepares his Tar Heels for this meaningful game (bragging rights, bowl possibilities and program momentum), six Chapel Hill area organizations have united to produce the “Touch Downtown Chapel Hill” campaign with the shared goal of bolstering the community, hometown spirit and economic activity during football weekends.

The Tar Heels have sold out five of six home games this year (a few tickets remain for the November 14 home finale against Miami) and 17 of 19 under Butch Davis. Local organizations are building upon this tremendous interest as 2009 marks the second year of an aggressive mass media branding campaign designed to remind fans coming to Kenan Stadium that “It’s your school. Your team. Your town. So why not make it your day? There’s a lot to do all around Chapel Hill, so stay and play on game day.”

The organizations involved in this campaign include: Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Department of Athletics, and UNC Rams Club.

“Touch Downtown Chapel Hill” strives to encourage football fans, both residents and visitors, to start early and stay late in Chapel Hill after the game ends and enjoy nearly 100 restaurants, 50 specialty stores and a mile of family cultural attractions.

UNC’s Homecoming Parade starts at 11 am and begins on Columbia Street (coming out of Swain Parking Lot on campus) towards Franklin Street. Heading east on Franklin Street, the parade will continue past the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and then turn south onto Raleigh Road and continue back up into campus towards Cameron Avenue. The parade will last for approximately 45 minutes, include nearly 70 student organizations, homecoming royalty and the UNC Marching Tar Heels. The street will only be closed while the parade is in procession and will be opened as it ends.

A recent economic impact study conducted by Dr. Nathan Tomasini of the VCU Center for Sports Leadership found that the 2008 North Carolina-Notre Dame football game generated $6.4 million for the Chapel Hill and Orange County economies plus $325,000 in local and state tax revenue. With seven home games on the schedule for 2009, the total economic impact projects to be over $40 million in addition to more than $2 million in local and state tax revenue.

In addition, Chapel Hill Transit offers bus transportation from six Park & Ride lots before and after 2009 Tar Heel football games. Rather than sitting in traffic on I-40, 54, 15-501 and other roads, two lots on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard offer Tar Heel Express service three hours before kickoff and three hours after the game with drop-off points including Franklin Street, Tar Heel Town and Kenan Stadium so coming early or staying after to enjoy Downtown Chapel Hill has never been easier. The drop-off site for all six routes is one block from Kenan Stadium and Tar Heel Town. The costs for all Tar Heel Express buses are $5 round trip and $3 one-way.

Additional information is available at 919-968-2060 or 888-968-2060 or http://www.TouchDowntown.com.

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Contact: Martin Armes, 919-608-7260


Did You Know?

UNC was the first state-supported university in the U.S. and enrolls nearly 30,000 students from all North Carolina counties, all U.S. states and more than 100 foreign countries.