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Future Williams-Brice Stadium upgrades include videoboards in the south end zone corners.
Major renovations to South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium are in sight.
Things right now are in the boring stage before massive change. Before the shovels go in the ground, there is an absurd amount of logistics to get in order. Approvals from the USC Board of Trustees. Approval from the state. Red tape to navigate.
The University of South Carolina took another step on Thursday as the school’s board of trustees approved phase two of the renovations — just about seven months after it approved phase one.
Here are 10 things you need to know.
1. When phase one of the Williams-Brice renovations — which mostly focused on adding suites to the west side of the stadium that runs along Bluff Road — were approved by the South Carolina Board of Trustees in October, it wanted the school to explore more. It basically said: Hey, while you guys are doing the studies and designs of the west side, why don’t you also look at the east and north sides while you’re at it? Which led us to Thursday and the phase two approval.
2. It looks like the South Carolina students are closer to getting their own air-conditioned space behind the student section. We reported in February the Gamecocks were looking at adding 10,000 square feet of indoor space in the north end zone — which might include using the Floyd Building — for students, but Thursday’s approvals brought that idea closer to reality.
In addition to South Carolina adding a club-like, air-conditioned area behind the studentsection and the north end zone, the plans shown in Thursday’s meeting included more restrooms for students as well as two new videoboards in the south end zone. (Right now, the only videoboard is the main one behind the students.)
3. To help create a space for those video boards, South Carolina will get rid of the two walking ramps in the corners of the south end zone, replacing them with escalators. The ramps will be turned into four-story towers, with clubs on the first three levels and an open area on the fourth floor for folks to stand and watch the game. Because USC is adding standing-room areas on the towers and above the student section, the final capacity is still in question. South Carolina will lose seats, but it will still welcome well above 70,000.
4. Another aspect of the renovation that will impact every fan: More restrooms, enhancing the concession stands and “providing just some general cleanup of the concourse area so we can provide more space for our fans coming and going,” athletic director Jeremiah Donati said during the meeting.
5. As we’ve written before, South Carolina is losing millions with every season Williams-Brice stays at the status quo with its premium space. That’s because the stadium holds only 18 suites — dead last in the SEC. In the phase one approval, USC noted its target suite number is 83, which, using USC’s current pricing, would generate the school over $6 million more annually.
Future Williams-Brice Stadium upgrades include videoboards in the south end zone corners.
Future Williams-Brice Stadium upgrades include videoboards in the south end zone corners.
6. In the phase one rollout, South Carolina said its goal was to construct 36 suites on the west side — 30 traditional suites and six founders suites ( 1,000-square-foot suites bunched near the 50-yard line). That has now changed. Per the phase two release, the plan is now for 33 traditional suites and 10 founders suites on the west side of Williams-Brice Stadium with the traditional suites all a level above the founders suites.
7. The project will also also affect the actual football team, with plans to improve the South Carolina locker room and training room while also relocating the visiting team locker room. By moving the opposing locker room, USC could build a loading dock that would allow much easier access to the field when it brings in concerts and other outside events.
8. The Board of Trustees also approved a $350 million budget for the project, which is notable because for a long time, the state of South Carolina had a law stating that no university athletic department in the state could have outstanding debt of more than $200 million.
There was no way for USC to renovate Williams-Brice and stay under the $200 million. That was changed last July, when Gov. Henry McMaster signed an amendment to State Bill 314, upping the possible debt to $500 million. Donati said, even with a $350 million bond, South Carolina would remain under the $500 million debt ceiling.
9. In February, South Carolina hired the design firm Populous to head up the renovation for Williams-Brice Stadium. If you’ve skipped out on your Architectural Digest subscription, a note: Populous is a big deal in the stadium design world, the firm behind Sphere in Las Vegas, a dozen Olympic venues, nine NFL stadiums and plenty more.
A group from Populous meets with South Carolina officials on a bi-weekly basis and, “I’m not talking about little catch-up meetings,“ Gamecock Club CEO Wayne Hiott told The State. “This is the most-sophisticated architectural firm in the world and they are proving it.”
10. While fans are looking toward December — the tentative time frame South Carolina has set for construction to begin — the date USC’s administration is eyeing is August.
It’s then that South Carolina will try to get state approval from, first, South Carolina’s Joint Bond Review Committee and then the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, which meets on Aug. 26. Both of those entities meet bi-monthly, so if South Carolina isn’t able to present by then, it’ll have to wait until October and possibly delay the project.
