Downtown trolley to transport locals, tourists for international soccer game

It’s a bird, it’s a plane — no, it’s a trolley. 

The Town of Carrboro and the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau are teaming up to bring a free trolley for locals and tourists for the upcoming July 23 soccer match between England’s Manchester City FC and Scotland’s Celtic FC at Kenan Stadium. The game is part of the FC series, a European soccer series tour across multiple U.S. cities. 

The trolley will run July 22-24 from 1-9 p.m. It will not be taking riders directly to Kenan Stadium, but will instead make a loop through downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro to allow visitors easy access to local shops and restaurants in the area. The 25-minute loop will be marked with custom blue trolley stop signs for easy navigation. No tickets or reservations are required.

The loop will make use of existing Chapel Hill Transit bus stops, Patty Griffin, communications director at Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, said. The Chapel Hill buses will run as usual.

Griffin said the goal of the trolley is to provide visitors with a stress-free way to maneuver downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

“There's a map laid out for you,” she said. “You'll know where the stops are. You'll know the various businesses that are participating, that are offering different events and activities. There'll be some watch parties, there'll be specialty drinks and cocktails and there'll be special meals and food.”

Steel String Brewery in Carrboro is one of the many local businesses who will be running specials as a “Headquarter Pub” for Celtic FC. Steel String will be doing a few different things on game day, including selling a Scottish ale, donating 10% of sales proceeds to World Central Kitchen and streaming the game on their projector. Everyone who buys a drink will be entered to win a Celtic jersey on game day. 

“We like [the Celtics] activism that they've shown at their games, and it just seems seems like a cooler team to pick — the underdogs who have a cool history of activism and being from Scotland, but founded by Irish immigrants,” owner Andrew Scharfenberg said. 

Manchester City fans can go over to Bru’s Public House for 10% off their food bill if they’re wearing Man City jerseys gear, general manager Andrew Plant said.

“During the game, we'll be giving out some swag we have that's on the walls already, just decorated for the game,” he said. 

There will also be a chance for visitors to give back to the Chapel Hill community on game day through a food collection at both Steel String Brewery and Bru’s Public House run by Porch. Both specifically chose to hold these collections on game day because of how many people would be in town. 

“We're most interested in collecting healthy nonperishables, such as healthy snacks,” Sofia Edelman, Porch’s communications manager, said. “We typically need rice, 1- to 2-pound bags of rice, pasta sauce, low sugar cereals, canned fruits and canned meats. Those are our big needs, especially in the summer.”

Edelman said that summertime tends to be especially tough, as families are disconnected from the resources provided through the schools, and donations go down as more people are out of town. She said Porch appreciates anyone who can bring even one item to the drives.

After visiting the local businesses using the trolley, those with tickets to the match can walk 15 minutes through campus to get to Kenan Stadium. The closest trolley stop is on Franklin Street in front of Carolina Coffee Shop, Griffin said. 

To find the trolley’s route map, go to Visit Chapel Hill’s Downtown Trolley webpage. The map also includes a comprehensive list of all the deals, pop-ups and festivities planned by local businesses in spirit of the soccer match.

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