CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time ever, students at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte are looking forward to a college football home game.
"I went out and bought a jersey, and I'm ready, and it's going to be awesome," said freshman Amanda Myers.
Saturday, the 49ers will kick off their inaugural season against Campbell University at noon.
It's one of the biggest events the university has held, which presented a new set of challenges for school officials, including parking
"We've been working on this for well over two years now," said Gary Caton, director of parking and transportation services.
Caton said the university used a consultant to help formulate a parking plan which will use the parking lots and decks all over campus.
The highest donors get prime parking closest to the stadium and parking branches out from there, with student tailgating lots on the east side of campus.
Ticket holders were able to go online and purchase permits for designated areas around campus. Each area also comes with specific directions on which entrance to drive into to avoid congestion as much as possible.
Even fans that didn't purchase a parking permit early will have the option to park in a cash deck on campus.
"They built the stadium with the parking in mind. We have enough parking for the first few years anyway," Caton said.
The university could have to rethink the parking situation if plans to expand seating in the stadium go through in the years ahead, but for this season, the university says it's ready.
The stadium holds about 15,000 people.
For everything you need to know about game day, visit http://inside.uncc.edu/game-day.
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