Beer not part of lineup at Clemson’s new-look Death Valley

Selling beer at college football games is becoming a way for schools to make extra revenue and enhance the gameday experience during a time when attendance has reached its lowest point in 14 years, but only 20 percent of college stadiums are doing it.

Don’t expect to add Clemson to that list any time soon; athletics director Dan Radakovich says talks of alcohol sales at Memorial Stadium “haven’t gotten to first base.”

That’s because Clemson’s football program doesn’t have concerns about making money or getting people into its stadium on fall Saturdays, and adding alcohol sales, Radakovich said, could alter Tiger football that is steeped in tradition.

“Death Valley is such a unique place,” Radakovich said, “and we are blessed right now with a fan base that wants to be here, that continues to come here for not only what happens on the field but also the things around it.”

From tailgating to “Running Down the Hill” to “Tiger Rag,” the athletics department feels like Clemson does gamedays right. There will be, however, enhancements fans can expect to see when they arrive for the season opener against Wofford on Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. start.

The Oculus, renovated, sold-out suites and a new club section make up just a few of Clemson’s “15 for 15” game experience improvements.

“We’re incredibly excited for the opportunity to start this football season,” Radakovich said. “It’s been eagerly anticipated. I think we’ve sold a record number of tickets. The Notre Dame game in October is one of the hottest tickets that I’ve been able to be a part of in awful long time.

“So there are a lot of good things happening here within the football program and structurally here in Memorial Stadium. That’s taken up an awful lot of time over the year and will into the next couple of years, but the response from our fan base has been tremendous.”

Bridging the gap

Fans will immediately notice many of the $32.6 million construction upgrades, which will be completed before the first game. The cylinder-shaped Oculus represents the final stage of a WestZone face-lift that began in 2004. There’s a bridge running through it that serves a more practical function: connecting the South and North stands.

“The idea of creating that pedestrian bridge through the Oculus is really going to allow folks to enter at the closest gate to where they park and then traverse the stadium to their seats with what we hope will be with a lot more comfort, with some great views along the way as well,” Radakovich said.

Trial by traffic

Clemson feels your pain, folks.

“Traffic in general is always something we’re concerned about,” Radakovich said.

There have been vast issues of getting both in and out of campus on home-game Saturdays for decades, so the university began looking to alleviate those woes in 2004.

A study, conducted by Associate Professor for Civil Engineering Dr. Wayne Sarasua, was reopened a year ago, and Radakovich said a new plan will be implemented for the first two home games this month:

▪  Postgame: Contra-flow of traffic (all four lanes) on S.C. 93 from Perimeter Road eastbound through campus to U.S. 76.

▪  Postgame: Closing College Avene to through traffic from the downtown junction near Bowman Field to S.C. 123. (Cars can leave garage and street parking to head north to Highway 123).

▪  Pregame/postgame: Creation of bus/shuttle lane from Clemson Beach Parking to Perimeter Road.

“We think these steps can greatly improve some of the bottlenecks we’ve seen at Highway 76 and Highway 123,” said Capt. M. Warren, SC Highway Patrol Troop 3 Commander. “We’ll put these measures into place the first two games, and reassess during the three-week break prior to the Oct. 3 contest (against Notre Dame).”

Process continues

You won’t be on campus long until you notice a host of other construction projects. Here are some athletic village updates:

▪  The demolition of the basketball annex that was previously connected to Littlejohn Coliseum as been completed without issue, and the $63.5 million renovations are in the beginning stages. The project continues to be on schedule, and there’s a webcam on the Clemson website where viewers can see the progress. Littlejohn Colliseum progress

▪  The new baseball operations building is in its final stages of completion. The team, now led by coach Monte Lee, has already had meetings in the facility that was supposed to be done during last season. It’s locker rooms, meetings rooms and player lounge is expected to be in use during the fall baseball practice season.

“It’s going to provide coach Lee and our student-athletes a really great facility to train from, to recruit to,” Radakovich said. “It’s an exciting time.”

A new football operations project, which will cost $62 million, is waiting for secondary approval from both the board of trustees and the state. If that’s received in the next couple of months, Radakovich said construction could begin late December or early January. Design plans are still in the preliminary stages, but the building would contain coaches’ offices, meeting rooms for the players, new locker room, weight room, training room and cafeteria.

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 12:45 AM.