CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers hosted the New Orleans Saints at Bank of American Stadium on Monday night.
Ahead of the big event, the Charlotte Department of Transportation announced road closures, including portions of Graham Street, Mint Street, and Brooklyn Village Avenue. Officials said the closures were in place to create a safer pedestrian environment during the event.
"The economic impact of a Carolina Panthers home game at Bank of America Stadium is tremendous," James LaBar, the senior vice president of economic development for the Charlotte Center City Partners, said in a statement. "A significant portion of Uptown’s top 10 best visit days for 2021 and 2022 are related to the Panthers home games."
In 2021, there was a 95% increase in Uptown visits during Panthers home games compared to a typical day in Uptown, according to LaBar.
"Uptown events like Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC games, as well as concerts and other events, are very important to the economic well-being for hundreds of businesses uptown and thousands of our residents and contribute more than $1 billion in economic impact to Charlotte," the city of Charlotte said in a statement.
It was a pretty busy night in Uptown with the crowds coming out for the first Panthers home game of the season. One of the biggest changes many fans noticed were fewer places to park with higher prices to pay.
Prices ranged from $40 to $70 on average, with another lot priced at $200. Some fans told WCNC Charlotte they played it safe and avoided higher prices by getting out earlier this morning to secure a good spot.
Bryce Young made his home debut against the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football." Fans were excited to see the young quarterback who shot to fame after leaving Alabama and being selected first overall in the draft.
The Panthers lost in Week 1 to the Atlanta Falcons, and the Saints were coming off a hard-fought 16-15 win over the Tennessee Titans. Monday night, the Saints beat the Panthers 20-17.
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