USC completes sign restoration at Williams-Brice Stadium

The Block C Gamecocks sign damaged by a storm last month has been fixed in time for South Carolina’s first home game Saturday against East Carolina.

Work crews completed the sign restoration this week. Nasty weather moved through the Columbia area the evening of Aug. 1 and damaged the sign. According to South Carolina sports information: “The sign company concluded that the sign/black lexan material in the Block C was hit by lightning and cracked, then the wind blew it out.”

The 29-foot-by-51-foot lighted sign is outside the stadium facing Bluff Road and the Gamecock Park. The $200,000 aluminum sign was added in 2014.

South Carolina last week raised a new banner below the block C that features a USC football player wearing No. 1 with a reflective shield on his helmet but not showing a face. The player is standing in front of the state flag’s palmetto tree and crescent.

The player modeling the No. 1 jersey in the new stadium banner is senior wide receiver Matrick Belton, who starred locally at Keenan High. Belton wears No. 15 for the Gamecocks.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 11:59 AM with the headline "USC completes sign restoration at Williams-Brice Stadium."