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Turns out a Carolina girl is behind this European soccer exhibition.
Molly Pendleton, a 2010 UNC graduate who works with Unified Events out of Beaverton, Oregon, made the first contact with UNC last fall about holding tonight’s Chelsea-Wrexham practice friendly at Kenan Stadium.
“After the first of the year,” Pendleton told WRAL, “it shook out that Chelsea was participating in an English Premier League Summer Series Tournament, and they were looking for a game ahead of that tournament as an earlier date. It really started to come to fruition after the first of the year.”
It also turns out that Anson Dorrance, Carolina’s legendary soccer coach who just signed a five-year contract extension, had very little to do with it beyond giving support to his university when he found out what was in the works.
Kenan will be close to sold out by the 7:30 kickoff, and while the event may fall far short of the $20 million economic boon to the Triangle first imagined, thousands of newcomers to Chapel Hill will be in attendance.
“We’ve had ticket purchasers from all 50 states and six different countries,” Pendleton added. “Over 70 percent of the ticket buyers are outside of the Triangle area. I think that was a real appeal for UNC in putting on this match, being able to showcase the university and the venue to people who might not typically be UNC football fans, to come on campus and see a match like that.”
The terms for UNC and the teams mirror others made in Charlotte for prior FC Series matches, but athletic director Bubba Cunningham expects his department to net out $300,000 once the layer of soccer turf is removed and the home of the Tar Heels returns to a football venue.
Parking will be a pain, as it usually is for a stadium that sits in the middle of campus, and could even be exacerbated with first-timers trying to find a spot. Pendleton and other organizers urge people to show up by 5:30 and enjoy what is happening on Franklin Street and catch the pre-game vibe around the stadium. She doesn’t know whether Wrexham owners and actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds will be there.
“We don’t know,” Pendleton said. “They’re in the process of filming some stuff. I think the hope is that they will be in attendance. We do know that they will be filming season 3 of the documentary as part of their preseason tour, so hopefully they’ll be able to cheer Wrexham on in their first match here in the U.S.”
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