news-record.com

CHAPEL HILL -- If the Tar Heels win a national championship Monday, anything blue will turn into cool green cash.

That's why local merchants -- regardless of their school affiliations -- are wishing them good luck.

Already, there's been an uptick in traffic at area stores, as fans search for items with a Sweet Sixteen or Final Four theme. But it's that national championship that would send the sales frenzy into overdrive.

"Right now, we're in a tropical storm," said John Hudson, co-owner of the Carolina Pride shop on Franklin Street. "If they win the championship, it will be a nuclear explosion."

Hurt by the recession, retailers certainly could use the boost. And they have good reason to have high expectations.

Following the Heels' last national championship in 2005, fans flooded Triangle stores. Lines stretched down the block.

"We actually had a bouncer in our store so we didn't have too many people in the store," said Heather Frazier, retail division manager for Johnny T-Shirt on Franklin Street.

The rush lasted for a full two weeks, Frazier recalled.

"We didn't have a schedule," she said. "If you had 30 minutes and you wanted to fold T-shirts, you came by the store."

Merchants shy away from saying exactly how much a national title benefits the bottom line.

But UNC's office of trademarks and licensing reported $590,000 in sales of championship gear alone in the year following the 2005 title run.

Any championship merchandise sales this year would come on top of revenue from other UNC-branded items. Net revenue from such sales last year was just shy of $3.7 million.

All of the money from such sales goes to academic scholarship programs.

Even non-licensed merchandise that happens to be just that right shade of blue is destined to be a hot seller.

Raleigh-based Eye Care Associates has been marketing Carolina blue Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses that retails for $150. In March, the company sold 250 pairs.

Already, fans are traveling to the area just to be part of the experience and to scoop up some collectibles.

Holly Bosch decided to swing through Chapel Hill Wednesday as she drove from her Cincinnati home for a vacation on Bald Head Island.

Bosch bought several T-shirts commemorating the team's progress to the Final Four.

"We wanted to bring something authentic back to Cincinnati."

Between local fans and out-of-towners, merchants are licking their chops.

Hudson at Carolina Pride has prepared two work schedules for employees -- one to use in the case of a win and one for a loss.

At Johnny T-Shirt, Frazier said the store will have extended hours through April 18 in case of a victory.

And Shelton Henderson, proprietor of the 39-year-old UNC merchandise shop The Shrunken Head, predicted that this year will be one of the biggest if the Tar Heels win.

"We have more people on the street this time," he said. "You can stand in the store and ask people where they're from, and there aren't any people from North Carolina. We've got more people and they're going to have fun. ... It's going to be a huge year."