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Carolinas’ College Towns

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill “came before the actual town of Chapel Hill,” said Marlene Barbera, director of sales for the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.

The North Carolina Legislature chartered its first university in 1789, and construction on the campus in Chapel Hill began in 1793. Because the University of North Carolina was the first public university in the nation to hold classes and graduate students, “it’s steeped in a lot of pride and history and tradition,” she said.

With about 60,000 residents, the city of Chapel Hill is small, but UNC’s international prestige attracts students from around the world, lending Chapel Hill a global flair. The university always has something going on — concerts, plays, sporting events — and Barbera can also leverage UNC professors and faculty to speak at events and lead workshops.

“There are a lot of resources for people who want to tap into what the university has to offer,” she said.

The Friday Conference Center is the most-used meeting venue on campus, with 25,000 square feet of event space in 25 meetings rooms as well as a 400-seat auditorium and a sunlight-filled central atrium.

At the Carolina Club in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, a 7,200-square-foot ballroom can be divided into three spaces, each of which opens onto the adjoining terrace.

The school’s historic Morehead Planetarium and Science Center houses the State Dining Room, which can seat 150 for meals, although organizers must donate in addition to the rental fee to use the venue. Groups can also rent two different levels in the Blue Zone at Kenan Memorial Stadium, home of the Tar Heels.

The North Carolina Botanical Garden is part of UNC and offers several indoor and outdoor event spaces. The James and Delight Allen Education Center is a three-building venue where groups will find the divisible 1,600-square-foot Reeves Auditorium with an attached covered deck, a seminar room and a classroom that can be halved.

The visitors bureau can also help arrange guided tours of campus, private tours of the Ackland Art Museum and behind-the-scenes tours of the Dean Smith Center, where the 2016-2017 NCAA National Champion men’s basketball team plays.

www.visitchapelhill.org