Friday night's men's basketball game against the University of North Carolina marked the first home game for the team in the new 5,100-seat Schar Center.
Every seat was filled inside the Schar Center as the Elon faithful cheered on the men’s basketball team as they took on the No. 7 University of North Carolina Tar Heels.
Just a few events after it opened, the Schar Center has a new attendance record, with 5,245 packing into the 5,100-seat center to catch the home opener for the team.
Students began gathering outside the Schar Center at 3 p.m. for an early afternoon tailgate leading up to the 7 p.m. tipoff. Students began streaming in at 5 p.m. to stake their claim to a seat in preparation for the action followed by the general audience at 5:30 p.m.
Among them was Bob Wilson, a native of Burlington and a 1983 UNC graduate who now lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Friday night’s game brought him back to Elon, where his parents now live, to catch the game. Like many Friday night, it was a first visit to the Schar Center.
“This is a game I just couldn’t pass up,” Wilson said. “I’m still just trying to absorb the Schar Center – it’s just a beautiful place.”
The night was the busiest for the Schar Center to date, with fans lining up at the concessions stands for fare including the Phoenix Dog — an Angus beef hot dog topped with pulled pork, Phoenix sauce, fried onions and slaw. Even UNC fans were walking back to their seats with Phoenix dogs.
People snatched up Phoenix apparel at the various booths around the concourse level, including a special T-shirt commemorating the historic matchup.
Fans gathered in the atrium near the main entrance to compete in video games and “pop-a-shot” basketball games or to lounge on couches before heading to their seats. The lights went down and the crowd erupted as the starting five for the Phoenix were announced and took the court, with the Fire of the Carolinas marching band rallying the arena as the teams headed toward tip-off.
Settling into the student section before the game got underway was Jason Jones, an Elon senior from Cary, N.C. During previous years, Elon has taken on big-name teams like Duke, but has had to head off campus to larger venues. That’s not the case anymore now that Schar Center is open.
“Finally we have space to host a team like Carolina,” Jones said. “When it’s filled up, it’s really so exciting to be here.”
Though there were sections of Carolina blue scattered around the arena, maroon and gold were the colors of the night as the Phoenix started off strong against the Tar Heels, leading at one point, but trailing at halftime. The Phoenix was unable to make up the ground during the second half. Sitting just a few rows back from the court was Daniel Schiff, a junior from Wisconson who turned out to cheer on the Phoenix but was also relishing “being able to see a team like Carolina up close like this.”
Taking in the game near the student section was Marty Daniel, a UNC season ticket holder from Greensboro used to watching his Tar Heels play in the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. He was here to cheer on his team, but was impressed by what Elon and the Schar Center have to offer.
“It’s such a nice arena, and I know Elon is going to enjoy it,” Daniel said.