Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ED HARDIN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: SPARTANBURG, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
This is NFL game week in the Carolinas, but a lot of people will hardly notice.
The Carolina Panthers will play their first ``home'' game Saturday, taking on the Denver Broncos at 7:30 p.m. at Clemson's Memorial Stadium. But judging from the numbers being tossed around in the television markets in North and South Carolina, football fans still are not sold on the idea.
More than 25,000 seats are available for the game, making a television blackout almost certain for three markets: Charlotte, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.,-Spartanburg, S.C.,-Asheville, N.C.; and Columbia, S.C.
Unless a lot of people buy tickets before Wednesday night, one of the hottest markets for the Panthers-Broncos game will be the Triad.
``Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point will see the game,'' said Charlie Dayton, the Panthers' communications director. ``Most everyone can see it except the three markets within 75 miles of the stadium.''
Since Charlotte and Columbia stations broadcast into the 75-mile area around Clemson, those markets are subject to blackout rules.
If the game does fall far short of a sellout, it would be the first setback for the team since the expansion franchise was awarded less than a year ago. Two weeks ago, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson expressed concern about the slow ticket sales.
``The Clemson situation is just taking a lot more work and effort than we thought,'' Richardson said. ``But it took a lot of work just to get the franchise. We'll go to work. That's nothing new. We've had to work at everything we've ever done.''
As of Monday, a little more than 50,000 tickets had been sold. Clemson's Memorial Stadium can seat up to 84,000 for a college game, but the Panthers would consider 76,000 a sellout. Unless about 25,000 fans buy tickets between now and Saturday, the team will fall far short of that goal.
Some 45,000 season tickets have been sold, but only an additional 5,000 fans have bought tickets for this weekend's game. About 7,500 ``Panther Packs,'' mini season-ticket packages, and about 15,000 single-game tickets have been sold. Panther Packs offer fans three- and four-game packages. The Denver game is included in a deal that also would allow fans to see regular-season games against San Francisco and the New York Jets.
``This baffles me,'' said Mike McCormack, the team president, the week the mini season-ticket packages went on sale. ``I traveled this area for a year and all the fans I talked to said they couldn't wait for the games in Clemson. I misread it. ...
``I'm an optimist,'' McCormack said. ``But I'll admit my optimism is fading a little bit.''
Clemson is about 220 miles from Greensboro, so far that the far-reaching blackout rules will not apply. But it is only about 130 miles from Charlotte, where the Panthers hope to fill a 72,000-seat stadium next season.
Bill Polian, Carolina's general manager, saw fans travel similar distances to see the Buffalo Bills when he was general manager there.
``I don't think the fact that the game didn't sell out is an indictment of the market or an indictment of the enthusiasm for the game,'' said Bill Polian, Carolina's general manager. ``It's a factor of the size of the stadium.''
But the numbers indicate the market for the Panthers is not northwestern South Carolina.
``We realize we are dealing with an unusual set of circumstances this year since Clemson is located on the edge of our market,'' said Phil Youtsey, Carolina's director of sales.
Fans still can order tickets through TicketMaster (704) 522-6500 or by calling the Panthers.
by CNB