College Gameday sets up in Romare Bearden Park for Duke’s Mayo Classic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS/CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) – ESPN’s College Gameday is beginning its 37th season in Uptown on Saturday morning.

On Thursday, crews began setting up shop at Romare Bearden Park for college football’s Week 1 kickoff. Gameday will begin at 9 a.m. and run until noon.

The network comes to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Classic, also labeled the ‘Battle for Carolina,’ at Bank of America Stadium between the No. 21 UNC Tar Heels and South Carolina Gamecocks.

Thousands of fans from both sides of the Carolinas are expected to descend onto the Queen City this weekend.

“It’s one of the coolest things in college football,” said Greg Cirillo, a Gameday fan. “Just the fact that now it’s coming to Charlotte, and you see it all throughout the country, it’s a really cool thing to watch.”

According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, the Tar Heels are favored to win with a 57.6% chance of defeating the Gamecocks.

Multiple events will occur around the Gameday setup, including food trucks, music, etc. Everything happening can be found here.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The last time the two played in Charlotte was for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in 2021.

That day, the Gamecocks went home to Columbia with a win.