Created: 11/20/2009 7:01:18 PM 
Greensboro, NC -- The UNCG men's basketball team tipped off its home schedule Friday night inside the Greensboro Coliseum against nationally-ranked Clemson.
The Spartans are leaving Fleming Gym on campus and are calling the coliseum home for the next five years. And that could bring more money for the school.
Students and fans tailgated outside the coliseum for much of Friday afternoon and the school handed out more than 2,200 student tickets. So far, the move appears to be shot in the arm for the program.
For each home game, the coliseum will seat about 5,000 more folks than UNCG's old Fleming Gym.
Ahead of Friday's tipoff, last minute preparations kept both the coliseum and the campus bookstore buzzing.
"I'm just buying some stuff, getting ready for the game," said sophomore Ryan Redd.
Managers at the bookstore shoppers like Redd and his friends have been heating up sales of Spartan merchandise all week long.
The store doesn't have exact sales figures yet, but the increase in traffic here has been noticeable.
"I mean, the atmosphere has been pretty wired all day," Redd said.
Students say the basketball team's new home is fueling most of the enthusiasm and the renewed interested in snatching up Spartan gear.
"[The coliseum] is just a better atmosphere," Redd said. "It feels kinda like we're arriving at the big school level."
Coliseum General Manager Matt Brown believes the five-year contract he signed with the school will boost the economic fortunes of both the university and the coliseum.
The two will split ticket sales 50-50, while the coliseum will rake in all the parking and concessions revenue for the 15 home games.
Specifics on how much the two hope to profit in over the next few years haven't been released.
"It brings life and vitality to our community," Brown said. "Despite 10 percent unemployment, this is an opportunity for people to come out and take their family."
For the school, it's a chance to raise sales for merchandise and exposure for the basketball program.
"This is really going to put us on the map nationally, I think," Redd said.
The coliseum said it was expecting close to 7,000 people for Friday night's Clemson game and through several TV partners, the game was seen all across the country.
That certainly increases the exposure, but both UNCG and the coliseum say it's just a matter of time before we know whether moving the games here is a move that truly pays off.
WFMY News 2
