
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 11, 1995                   TAG: 9507110090
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ED HARDIN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: SPARTANBURG, S.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

PANTHERS AREN'T THE TICKET YET, AT LEAST WITH FANS

The Carolina Panthers, about 31,000 cards short of a full house, have about two weeks to get ready for their first game.

As training camp opens this weekend at Wofford College, the first order of business is ticket sales. The Panthers have sold only 45,000 season tickets for the team's first year in Clemson, and they need to sell 76,000 to avoid the NFL's most dreaded defense - the television blackout.

Carolina officials will kick off a new ticket drive Wednesday, offering limited-game packages to fans leery of the long drive to Clemson and the demands of a 10-game season in a stadium located two and a half hours from Charlotte.

While quarterback Frank Reich and linebacker Sam Mills were in Spartanburg on Monday to talk about the upcoming camp, the emphasis at Wofford was on the 31,000 empty seats at Clemson.

``Our goal is to sell out all our games,'' said Mark Richardson, the team's director of business. ``We won't be on television if we don't sell out our games. That is not an option. We now know that there are only a certain number of people who can travel to 10 games in a year. This gives them the option of going to a couple of games a year.''

Carolina will offer a package of games called Panther Packs starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning in which fans can purchase two- and three-game combinations without having to commit to an entire season of travel.

``We realize we are dealing with an unusual set of circumstances since Clemson is located on the edge of our market,'' said Phil Youtsey, the team's director of sales. ``We are very pleased that over 45,000 fans have committed to each game, and now we move to the next step in the process.''

The next step was agreed upon only a couple of weeks ago when it became apparent that season-tickets sales had stalled. The Panthers open the exhibition season on July29 in Canton, Ohio, in the annual Hall of Fame Game against the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars.

Carolina's first game in Clemson will be a preseason game against the Denver Broncos on Aug.12.

All road games will be televised in local markets. Unless home games are sold out 72 hours before kickoff, the NFL will not allow those games to be televised in Charlotte-area markets.

Fans will be offered four plans on Wednesday. The packages range from $38 to $195. Single-game tickets will go on sale Aug.1.

Keywords:
FOOTBALL

by CNB