Tailgaters at N.C. State are losing 1,500 parking spaces for football this fall, according to a story in the Raleigh News and Observer, and that’s news that hits close to home for us here at Inside Tailgating. Our publisher and fearless leader, Stacey Moore, happens to be a proud N.C. State alum who developed a passion for tailgating while tossing back cold beverages and playing cornhole in the shadows of Carter-Finley Stadium.
So it cuts a little close to the bone to find out that 1,500 of his fellow Pack fans will be out of their parking spaces in the so-called Trinity and TX lots this fall because the land has been sold. The News & Observer reports that preliminary site plans have been submitted for an apartment complex called “The Station at Raleigh” which would house 174 apartments over a series of 21 three-story buildings.
That’s bad news to tailgaters who’ve enjoyed spacious, well-shaded lots with unassigned spaces for more than 10 years. Joseph Gillis, 37, told the Raleigh News & Observer, it was the best tailgating space at Carter-Finley.
“You could get to your own spot, move around and you weren’t on top of everybody,” Gillis said. “And the crowd wasn’t too old or too young. It was the lot where people still wanted to party but didn’t want to chug a keg.”
The lots were privately-owned which means N.C. State’s athletic department didn’t have a whole lot of say in the matter, but the timing of it didn’t sit well with fans. They were told of the lots’ closing just a few weeks before season tickets went on sale May 1.
According to the News & Observer, The Wolfpack Club, which handles parking assignments, will be offering spots near Cardinal Gibbons high school, West Chase Drive and the Frank Weedon Drive to the affected fans.
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