CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - The new UNC Charlotte's $45 million football stadium is almost complete. It should be finished by the first of October.
Head coach Brad Lambert is excited.
"This is going to be a first class stadium," Lambert said. "It's going to be a really fan friendly environment. There's really not a bad seat in here, so it's going to be a good place for people to come see us play."
In addition to all the state of the art equipment, the new stadium will also have an academic center for players to hit the books after they hit the field.
Lambert says that's important.
"Help the guys with their advising," the coach said. "Their study hall, different things."
While academics is a priority, another priority is to sell 5,000 special licensure seats in the stadium to fans. So far 3,990 of those special seats have been sold. Officials want those seats gone soon. Lambert believes seeing a stadium in progress will help.
"The more tangible it becomes," Lambert said. "People are saying this is a reality, so we should really get all that finished up this fall and get all those seats sold."
The coach is busy now trying to find a winning team. He admits that will be a challenge. Lambert says he doesn't want a team full of freshmen, so he is working to have a variety of players.
While he finds his team, he is offering fans a promise.
"We're going to put a team out there," Lambert said. "When people leave the stadium, they are going to say you know what - I want to go back and watch those guys play again. They play with class. They play hard. They represent everything good about college football."
The 49'ers' first home game is August, 2013. They play Campbell University.
