ACC Tournament Traffic Near the Greensboro Coliseum: What to Do If Your Car Quits

If your car quits in ACC game traffic around the Greensboro Coliseum, now named First Horizon Coliseum, steer into a lot entrance or side street. Don't stop in a drop-off lane or the median of Gate City Boulevard. Hazards on, belt on. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or you're stuck in a live lane. Then give your street, your direction and the lot letter you're near. The next men's ACC Tournament there runs March 9 to 13, 2027.

When does ACC basketball fill the Coliseum next?

The arena has 22,000 seats. It has hosted the ACC men's and women's tournaments a combined 53 times, more than any other building. The men's event was last here in 2023. The women's event was last here in 2025.

The Complex lists the 2027 men's ACC Tournament for March 9 to 13, 2027. That's five straight days of crowds, and the Complex notes the schedule can change. You don't have to wait for March to see a big ACC crowd, though. Two games with ACC teams are already on this winter's calendar:

• Tuesday, December 15, 2026, 7 p.m.: the Tobacco Road Classic, UNC vs. NC State.
• Saturday, December 19, 2026, 3:30 p.m.: Wake Forest vs. West Virginia.
• March 9 to 13, 2027: the men's ACC Tournament.

The arena is only one piece of the site. The Greensboro Complex has nine venues, including the Special Events Center and the ACC Hall of Champions, and it hosts over 1,100 events a year. A game night can share the lots with a show next door.

Why does traffic stack up around the Coliseum on game days?

Start with the math. The arena seats 22,000. The Complex has a bit more than 6,000 parking spaces on site. A sold-out crowd has to share rides, get dropped off or park somewhere else nearby. All of that traffic funnels onto the same few streets.

For a capacity concert in March 2026, the Complex, the Greensboro Department of Transportation and Greensboro Police put out a joint warning. Arrive early and carpool. Police officers would work the major intersections near the Coliseum. Electronic message signs would show parking and traffic news. The heaviest traffic was expected in the two hours before the 7 p.m. show, and drivers not going were told to take other routes. Plan for the same on a big ACC night.

The lots add their own line. You pay as you pull in, unless you bought a pass ahead of time, and the Complex takes cards only. Have your card or pass ready before you reach the gate. A stall at the entry is a stall in everyone's way.

Which streets and lots should you know?

The Complex sits at 1921 West Gate City Boulevard. The official map gives you the landmarks a dispatcher can use:

• Gate City Boulevard runs along the north side, past the ACC Hall of Champions and the Coliseum's north entrance.
• Patterson Street and Ellington Street are on the west side. The main lot is entered off those two streets.
• Coliseum Boulevard, Holbrook Street and Midway Street run along the east side, near lots E and K.
• The lots have letters. The map marks lots A, B, C, D, E, F, K and P. Note yours when you park. "Lot E, near Coliseum Boulevard" is a spot a driver can find in the dark.

The map also marks a UNCG Park and Ride lot. In that March advisory, the Complex pointed fans to it at 1720 West Gate City Boulevard, close to the north entrance and easier to leave after the game. If you parked there, say so. It is a different pickup than the main lot.

What should you do if your car dies in game traffic?

Crawling traffic gives you one gift: time. If the engine sputters, you're barely moving and still have room to roll somewhere better. Use it.

• Hazards on right away. The cars behind you are watching the arena, not your brake lights.
• Roll into a lot entrance, a side street or a wide shoulder. Skip the drop-off lanes and the areas beside vehicle gates. The Complex marks those No Parking.
• Stuck in a live lane? Stay in your seat with your belt on and call 911. Don't stand between rows of moving cars.
• Tell the officer nearby. If police are working the next intersection, they're already managing that traffic.
• Quit inside a lot? Stay by your car, out of the driving lane, so exiting cars can see you.

What if someone taps your bumper?

Bumper taps happen in a crush like this. North Carolina's G.S. 20-166(c2) says that if nobody is hurt and every car can still be driven, the drivers move out of the travel lane to the shoulder as soon as they can. Swap your info off the road, not in it.

Driving in on I-40?

Check DriveNC for crashes before you leave. On covered highways, NCDOT's free Safety Service Patrol answers *HP from a cell phone. It changes flats, adds a little gas and jumps batteries. It works the major highways, not the Coliseum lots.

Battery dead in the lot after the game?

You walk out after a late tipoff, turn the key and get a click. Here is the good news. The Complex says service vehicles work its lots during major events. They change tires, add air, jump batteries and help people find their cars. Ask a parking attendant first.

The lots stay staffed until an hour after an event ends. After that, or on a smaller night, a jump start is the call. December is rough on batteries here. NOAA's normals for the Greensboro airport put the December low at about 33°F, with about 17 nights at or below freezing. March is milder, with a low near 39°F and about 8 freezing nights. A tired battery that ran a phone charger and a radio through a long tailgate may not have one more start in it.

What about flats, lockouts and stuck cars?

Other lot problems have their own fixes:

• A flat with a good spare in the trunk is a tire change right in your space.
• Keys locked inside while you tailgated? That's a car lockout.
• Parked on soft ground off the pavement somewhere nearby, and now the tires just spin? A winch-out pulls you back to solid ground.
• Smoke, grinding, or a car that won't run at all needs a tow to the shop you pick.

Can you leave a dead car overnight? The Complex parking page only mentions overnight parking for RVs, by reservation, during certain multi-day events. Don't count on leaving a car. Call the Complex at 336-373-7400 or ask an attendant.

What if your car got towed during the event?

The Complex warns that unattended or illegally parked cars on nearby roads, medians and private property get ticketed and towed at the owner's cost. Who towed it decides who you call.

• A business lot near the Coliseum. In Guilford County, G.S. 20-219.2 requires a sign at every lot entrance with the tow company's name and number. Go back to that sign and call.
• Police towed it. Call Greensboro Police at 336-373-2435. After an arrest or a violation, you go to Police Records at 100 Police Plaza with your registration or title and a photo ID.
• No arrest or violation? The city's towed car page lists Parking Enforcement at 336-373-2648 and Local Ordinance at 336-373-2111.

Sentinel doesn't do impounds or private-property tows. If your car won't start once it's released, we can send a partner to tow it to your shop.

How does Sentinel help near the Coliseum?

Sentinel Towing is a towing and roadside network. A vetted local partner tow company does the work, not us. We text you a locked price before anyone is sent, then check on you by text until your truck arrives. You get your driver's name, photo and truck by text, and you can track your truck on a map. We can also text one family member where you are. That's the Stay-With-You Promise, and how it works doesn't change on game night. If your car has to go on the truck, you can ride along when it's safe and allowed, or we help you get a ride. For the rest of the city, from the Urban Loop to Death Valley, see the Greensboro towing page.

Stuck right now? Call 1-888-TOW-1213, or request help online.

Greensboro Coliseum Traffic Questions

Rules change, so check the official source before you rely on it. Sources: Greensboro Complex: directions and parking, Greensboro Complex map, Greensboro Complex: 2027 ACC Tournament dates, First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro Complex: about, Tobacco Road Classic, Wake Forest vs. West Virginia, Coliseum traffic advisory, March 2026 (archived), Greensboro Police: retrieve a towed car, G.S. 20-166, G.S. 20-219.2, NCDOT Safety Service Patrol, NOAA monthly climate normals, DriveNC.