Hotels for Duke's Mayo Classic

College football takes over for a season-opening showdown between two programmes with plenty on the line before conference play begins. Expect a mix of alumni, families and neutral fans drawn by the neutral-site billing, all making a weekend out of a single game. Early-season matchups like this tend to carry extra weight, since both sides are still working out who they are.

Carolina was awarded an expansion franchise in 1993 and began play in 1995, its owner choosing the panther as a symbol of quiet power to represent a state without an existing major pro sports team of its own. The Panthers reached the Super Bowl twice, after the 2003 and 2015 seasons, without a win; the 2015 team, led by MVP quarterback Cam Newton, went 15-1 in the regular season before falling in the title game.

The franchise plays in uptown Charlotte, a rare NFL stadium within walking distance of a city's downtown core. Newton's dynamic, dual-threat style during that era remains the standard by which the position is measured in Carolina to this day.

Home to the Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium sits in uptown Charlotte, an increasingly confident city centre of modern towers and an expanding restaurant scene. The stadium is genuinely central, with the NoDa arts district and the city's bars all within easy reach. The Lynx Blue Line light rail runs through uptown, linking the stadium area to the wider metro. Booking a room in uptown means you can walk to the game through the city's buzz and step back into the neighbourhood once it ends.