Yahoo Finance Carolina Panthers give Providence Day, Northwestern a ‘Final Four’ experience
The Carolina Panthers gave two area high school football teams an experience they’re likely to remember forever on Wednesday afternoon.
In August, Charlotte’s Providence Day School will play Rock HIll’s Northwestern High at Bank of America Stadium. It’ll be the first high school football game played in the NFL facility, and Panthers officials appear to be going all out to make it special.
The NFL team invited a handful of players and cheerleaders from both high schools to the stadium Wednesday for a video shoot to create content that will be shown on the video boards during the game.
A stage was set up with huge screens in a large bay where TV trucks from broadcast partners like Fox and ESPN would usually park equipment for national telecasts.
It looked like something you might see on a movie premiere’s red carpet, and the videos were akin to team introductions that are shown before the NCAA’s Final Four games. A large crew directed both high schools and their coaches, and there was a long camera that looked like it belonged on a motion picture set tracking their movements, sometimes extending several feet to get closer to the action.
The players, dressed in full uniform, got to point at that camera, dance a little bit and have fun, knowing that if they make a big play in the game this fall, these animations would flash on the board.
“That’s the best setup I’ve seen so far,” Providence Day lineman David Sanders said. “That’s a very, very large camera in there. I mean, it’s really cool and it’s really nice. That’s a dream come true for a lot of us kids, to be part of something like this. I grew up a Panthers fan and being able to play in that stadium will be amazing. So I look forward to balling out and being on that Jumbotron a lot.”
Northwestern coach Page Wofford said Panthers officials had expressed to him before he arrived how excited they were about the shoot.
But he said that didn’t prepare him for what he saw.
“I didn’t have any idea of what to expect,” he said. “But when I walked in, I was taken aback. ... I’ve just been very impressed with what the Panthers have done, and their openness, and the things things they’re trying to do to make you feel welcome and make this game as big as possible.”
Riley Fields, the Panthers’ director of community relations, said he hopes to make the game an annual event and wants to do everything possible to make teams — and fans — have a great experience.
“We want folks to experience high school football in a way they have never seen before,” Fields said. “We wanted to be able to give the kids an NFL-style treatment. We want it to be one of the experiences about playing in this game. It’s the standard we’re trying to set.”
Providence Day coach Chad Grier said he felt Fields and the Panthers hit their mark.
“It’s unbelievable,” Grier said. “Have you ever seen this for a high school game? I don’t think they fully grasp how significant it is to be the first high school game here. The Panthers will make this bigger and better every year. They’re really committed to it, but to be a part of this first one is special. These kids will never forget this.”
Want to go?
Providence Day will play Rock Hill’s Northwestern High in the first high school football game at Bank of America Stadium. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. on Aug. 19. Tickets are $5 at Ticketmaster and go on sale June 20. Providence Day was 12-1 last season and won the NC Division I private school state title. Northwestern was 14-2 and reached the S.C. 4A state championship game.
