As Butch Davis prepares his second Tar Heel football team for its Atlantic Coast Conference home opener against Virginia Tech, eight Chapel Hill area organizations have united to produce the “Touch Downtown Chapel Hill” campaign with the shared goal of bolstering the community, hometown spirit and economic activity during football weekends in 2008.

The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Department of Athletics, The UNC Rams Club, Tar Heel Sports Properties and UNC General Alumni Association have contributed more than $150,000 to this campaign that is an extension of the “Fifth Quarter Chapel Hill” promotion that had a soft rollout in 2006 and full implementation last year.

“Touch Downtown Chapel Hill” strives to encourage football fans, both residents and visitors, to start early and stay late in Chapel Hill after the game ends and enjoy nearly 100 restaurants, 50 specialty stores and a mile of family cultural attractions.

Local officials will utilize many more marketing vehicles this season. Magazine, radio and interactive ads. Street banners. A dedicated web site TouchDowntown.com. Email blasts. Brochures. Concerted communications and publicity push. Plus numerous cross promotions.

“We hope the campaign increases economic activity around Chapel Hill and generates even greater interest in Carolina Football,” said UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. “There is a great deal of excitement about the Tar Heels and it’s encouraging to see all these groups come together to promote football Saturdays. There’s no better place to watch a college football game than Kenan Stadium, and we also want our fans to make it a full day or even a weekend with all that Chapel Hill and the surrounding areas have to offer.”

“As its name implies, we want the tens of thousands of fans to touch our community by staying and playing on game day instead of making a beeline for the bus or car and departing town,” said Laurie Paolicelli, Executive Director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau. “We hope to encourage safe, extended activity downtown and around town after the game ends.”

“We expect the economic impact of each home football game to exceed $6 million,” said Aaron Nelson, President and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. “And with a coordinated effort like this one, we look forward to seeing local spending grow, supporting local businesses and our important local government services.”

The partners are committed to enhancing both the gameday and destination experience when North Carolina faces Virginia Tech on September 20, Connecticut on October 4, Notre Dame on October 11, Boston College on October 25, Georgia Tech on November 8 and North Carolina State on November 22.

Chapel Hill Transit offers bus transportation from six Park & Ride lots before and after 2008 Tar Heel football games. Rather than sitting in traffic on I-40, 54, 15-501 and other roads, two of the six lots offer Tar Heel Express service three hours before kickoff and three hours after the game with drop-off points including Franklin Street, Tar Heel Town and Kenan Stadium, so coming early or staying after to enjoy Downtown Chapel Hill has never been easier.

The drop-off site for all six routes is one block from Kenan Stadium and Tar Heel Town. The costs for all Tar Heel Express buses are $5 round trip and $3 one-way.

According to the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, visitors typically spend $285 a day/per person when visiting overnight. Day-trippers, who come for just the game, tend to spend $78 per day, per person and the Bureau would like to see that money spent throughout the destination. Tourism dollars make an annual impact of $147 million in Orange County, NC.

Additional information is available at 919-968-2060 or 888-968-2060 or www.TouchDowntown.com.

Contact: Laurie Paolicelli, Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau 888-968-2060

Martin Armes, 919-608-7260

Source: Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau