Belk Bowl attendance up slightly from last year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jerod Evans threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two scores and No. 18 Virginia Tech pulled off the largest comeback in its 124-year history, erasing a 24-point halftime deficit to beat Arkansas 35-24 on Thursday night in the Belk Bowl.

Thousands attended the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte and it was up to local agencies to keep the public safe in the wake of a terror attack earlier this month in Germany, police were especially cautious about protecting the public.

There were 46,902 fans that attended the game, which was up slightly from last year, 46,423.

The fire departments mobile operations center were outside the stadium, plus additional fire response units are ready to respond.

"We plan for this year round. The first thing we look at is safety and security," said Miller Yoho with the Charlotte Sports Foundation, which organizes the Belk Bowl. "We work directly with the city to make sure we have everything we need in the streets to provide the best possible fan experience."

Since the city declared the game an extraordinary event, fans were limited what they bring to the stadium. The designation also grants police more power to search people.

Channel 9 spoke with a security expert who thinks the classification is necessary because there are heightened concerns about terror attacks with vehicles.

Walter Kimble thinks authorities in Charlotte were likely paying close attention to what happened in Berlin earlier this month, where 12 people were killed at a Christmas market when an attacker rammed a truck into crowds of shoppers.

LINK: Belk Bowl FanFest

Kimble hoped the barriers outside the stadium gave fans some peace of mind.

“I am encouraged by what I see at Panthers stadium where we have multiple layers of ballards, you have large planters,” he said.

FanFest kicked off at 11 a.m. at the corner of Mint Street and Stonewall Avenue. There was live music, including a performance by Tim McGraw at BB&T Ballpark..

In two days, thousands of people will crowd into Romare Bearden Park for the New Year's Eve celebration, and it is likely that event could also be declared an extraordinary event.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com: