Comcast Center Rocks As Fans Welcomed

Oct. 12, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The NCAA men's basketball defending national champions opened a new year and a new era in style last night as a roaring, near-capacity crowd at the brand new Comcast Center officially welcomed the Maryland Terrapins.

Most of the arena's 17,950 seats were full by the time a most unique Midnight Madness event, complete with a laser show and spotlights, heralded the arrival of a new season.

To read the full account of Friday's Midnight Madness as it appeared in the Baltimore Sun, click here.

Some opening-night reactions from the Sun article:

"You don't know what basketball is about until you've seen a game at Cole, but I guess I'm getting the best of two worlds now," said Charlene Carino, a sophomore at Maryland. "This is so much bigger, and everything is so much more high-tech. It's amazing. It's a lot further than Cole was from my dorm, but it will be worth it."

"This is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. I'm in awe. Think how uncomfortable it would be in Cole tonight, as humid as it is outside," said Stan Merson, a season-ticket holder and bank manager from Laurel. He continued, "The seats are wider and the sea of red is amazing. Every time I come back to this campus, it gets prettier, and this is another big part of making it even prettier."

Said senior forward Tahj Holden, "It's so big. I still can't get over how modern everything is. It still feels like Cole, even though the sky boxes kind of give it away."

Commented senior point guard Steve Blake, "With success comes new things. We're as good as you can get, and now we have a building that's as good as it gets."

Said Brandon Feraren, a senior student, "This is my first time in here. It's so big, it kind of feels like an NBA game. I'm kind of sentimental about Cole, because that's where I've spent the past four years watching basketball. But I'm open to change. This looks like a pretty good change."

Read the entire Sun account by beat writer Gary Lambrecht.

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