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Tracy Glantz/tglantz@thestate.com/The State
The walkways leading to the upper decks at Williams-Brice Stadium now feature advertising and the Gamecock logo.
GoGamecocks.com
USC sitting pretty with stadium improvements
Covered outdoor seating in the newly remodeled Premium Club Suite on the west side of Williams-Brice Stadium. The suites were remodeled this year.
Tracy Glantz/tglantz@thestate.com
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 08.27.08
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Gamecocks vs. Wolfpack
WHO: N.C. State (5-7 last season) at USC (6-6)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: ESPN (cable channel 26)
RADIO: WNKT-FM 107.5, WISW-AM 1320
LINE: USC by 12
They did not make a big deal about it, at least publicly. But a few years ago, USC officials looked at the facilities arms race in college football and faced a major decision:
They could renovate or replace Williams-Brice Stadium, either of which would have cost a bundle. Or they could make incremental improvements every year at the stadium with a capacity of 80,250, which was built in 1934 by the Works Progress Administration.
They opted for the latter, with a strategy to “chip away,” as athletics director Eric Hyman put it. This year’s improvements will cost $5.6 million — and some of them aren’t so little.
Two big-ticket items are being worked on as USC prepares to open its football season Thursday night. A new athletic training room, costing $2.4 million, should be ready by mid-September. The Champions Club, a luxury seating area that cost nearly $1 million, will be used during the opener.
“(Williams-Brice) is the focal point of our athletic department,” said Kevin O’Connell, USC’s associate athletics director for facilities. “Football drives the revenue, and it’s extremely important that we do the things for the stadium to keep it pristine, not only for the life of the stadium but also for the fans.”
In November 2006, Hyman unveiled a $200 million facilities upgrade plan that featured a new baseball stadium and an academic enrichment center. The plan did not include a major overhaul of Williams-Brice, which had its most recent renovations in 1972 and ‘82. Hyman knew there were problems at the stadium, so he increased the budget for deferred maintenance.
Some of this year’s work is cosmetic. A massive, garnet-colored graphic is visible on the corner ramps. USC contracted a Columbia company, TPM, to add color to the exterior of Williams-Brice. That cost $52,000.
A new speaker system ($444,000) and two elevators ($425,000) were installed. A series of maintenance add-ons included:
• Restroom upgrades and painting ($30,000 each)
• Upgrades to concession booths ($250,000)
• New carpet, tile and windows ($97,453)
• Flat-screen televisions and digital TV wiring for the stadium ($193,000)
“You have to do maintenance every summer,” O’Connell said. “I also know that maintenance to this extent hasn’t been done, according to the people who’ve been here, because the funding wasn’t available. Now — and Eric’s mentioned this multiple times — now that, financially, we’re in better shape, we’re able to do the things to maintain the stadium that you have to do on an annual basis.”
The hope is the new training room will help the Gamecocks win and, as a result, generate more revenue.
Connected to the locker room through a tunnel, the training room will feature state-of-the-art equipment that could help cut rehab time. It will have three hydrotherapy pools, including an underwater treadmill, which will help bigger players put less stress on injured ankles and knees while working out.
The room, located on the first floor of the stadium on the Bluff Road side, will have doctors’ offices, a pharmacy and a large-scale training area.
Beyond helping players heal their injuries, the football staff plans to make the training room a regular stop for recruits when they tour the facility.
“This is considered relatively standard in the SEC,” said Jeff Guy, the football team’s medical director, who recently returned from working with the U.S. Olympic Committee in Beijing.
“This will compete with anybody’s (training room), any of the SEC schools.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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