Well, sorta....
<a href="http://sports.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1507367p-1537544c.html" target="_blank">UNC football fans grab tickets </a>
By BARRY SVRLUGA, Staff Writer
Fans hoping to catch one of North Carolina's two biggest home football games this fall --either against national power Texas or archrival N.C. State --may want to consider purchasing tickets for the Tar Heels' entire six-game home schedule.
UNC put a limited number of single-game tickets on sale Monday. Clint Gwaltney, UNC's director of ticket operations, said the tickets available for the Texas game Sept. 14 and the State game Oct. 12 -- 1,000 for each game --sold out quickly.
Fans can still get tickets to those two games, but instead of paying $35 for a single game, they'll have to invest either $100 for a limited-view season ticket in the first three rows or $175 for a regular-season ticket.
"Right now, you can't order an N.C. State ticket or a Texas ticket," Gwaltney said. "That may change, but we're going to keep selling season-ticket packages for quite a while."
Gwaltney said UNC has sold nearly 28,000 season tickets, putting it slightly ahead of last year's pace. The Heels sold more than 31,500 season tickets in 2001.
"I'd really like to get at least 32,000 this year," Gwaltney said.
When the season-ticket campaign ends in August, the school likely will release more tickets to the State and Texas games, Gwaltney said.
Carolina's home schedule also includes games against Miami of Ohio (Aug. 31), Georgia Tech (Sept. 28), Maryland (Nov. 2) and Clemson (Nov. 9). But none of those games has the panache of the State or Texas games.
The matchup with the Longhorns represents the return of Mack Brown, who coached the Tar Heels from 1988-97.
Gwaltney said UNC may bring in temporary bleachers for the State and Texas games, something the school hasn't done since its game against Florida State in 1997, when the Heels were ranked fifth and the Seminoles third nationally. The bleachers would be installed at the east end of Kenan Stadium.
-JD
