Dabotron? Look at Clemson’s progress on football stadium’s massive new video board
Come September, Clemson fans funneling into Death Valley to watch the Dabo Swinney and the Tigers play will notice a few major differences to the gameday atmosphere.
Clemson is currently in the middle of Phase I of a nearly $70 million makeover to Memorial Stadium.
Phase I includes updates to the WestZone Concourse Club, a new video board, new stadium lights and sound, and work on the east entry at Howard’s Rock.
The plans for the renovations were initially unveiled in October 2019 and approved in July 2021 with the expected cost being $68.7 million.
In Clemson’s June update on the construction, the school announced that the installation of new LED lights at the stadium had been completed.
The biggest change Tiger fans will see to Death Valley in the fall is the massive new jumbotron.
Nicknamed the “Dabotron” by Clemson assistant athletic director for football communications Ross Taylor, the new video board will stretch the length of the hill by Howard’s Rock.
Daktronics, a South Dakota-based electric company known for designing and manufacturing video boards, has installed all of the steel needed to make the 126-foot-by-57-foot video board come to life.
The previous video board that was installed in 2010 was 65-feet-wide by 25-feet-tall, making the new board more than four times the surface area.
Next up for the video board is Daktronics completing construction of the electrical and data infrastructure that will make up the inside of the video board, according to Clemson.
Clemson confirmed to The State that renovations are expected to be completed on schedule, just in time for the 2022 season home opener against Furman on Sept. 10.
Phase II of the renovations will begin after the end of the 2022-23 season and include an update to the Rogers Family Lot and team areas of the first level of the WestZone.
Memorial Stadium won’t be the only college venue in the Palmetto State that will be flaunting its new renovations in the fall. South Carolina is in the midst of adding room to its West concourse and has finished the installation of new LED lights in Williams-Brice Stadium.
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 11:57 AM.
