Memorial Stadium work on schedule

These are busy, loud times at Clemson Memorial Stadium.

The decades-old press box and luxury suites on the south side have been gutted out to make room for a renovation project that will fund many more for Clemson athletics.

But don’t worry, fans. Joe Simon, the director of facilities management, says there won’t be a nail left to put in and all construction will be “100 percent done” when the Tigers open up the 2015 season on Sept. 5 against Wofford.

In the meantime, work at Memorial Stadium is one of the many projects Clemson athletics director Dan Radakovich updated during Monday’s quarterly meeting with the media.

“That project is going well,” Radakovich said. “It’s created new opportunities for us. We’ve sold to date about 535 of the 600 club seats. That’s been really positive for us as we move ahead since filling those club seats is a real revenue driver to help with all the projects that we’re doing.”

Radakovich’s plan involves a $2 million ticket bond fee, $6.5 million from IPTAY and up to $4.5 million from the Clemson Athletics Trust fund designed to fund and pay off building and renovations through 2047 before it all starts again.

For now, he’s focused on a bridge in the West Zone to help connect the north and south stands and getting all new luxuries in the stadium’s midsection, including refurbished suites on both sidelines and operative windows for climate control.

Clemson’s other current projects include a baseball building attached to Doug Kingsmore Stadium that’s behind schedule but expected to be completed some time this spring. Littlejohn Coliseum’s major renovation has received all of its final approvals and work will begin May 11; Radakovich doesn’t think it’ll have a major effect on parking and traffic during football season.

The next big project on the docket is the a new football operations building that could begin receiving early approvals this week. That would open up space in Memorial Stadium that will likely be housed by elements of the athletics department at some point, Radakovich said.

There are several other projects and issues on Radakovich’s plate:

Jervey Gym, home of the volleyball team, is being converted into a basketball arena for the women’s team while Littlejohn is being renovated. A wooden floor has been brought in and the entrance will be changed.

Riggs Field will receive a new playing surface this summer.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 11:44 PM.