What’s new at Williams-Brice Stadium? Updated video board, banner among changes
This season, the University of South Carolina will allow Williams-Brice Stadium to welcome a full capacity of spectators for the first time since 2019.
South Carolina debuted several changes to the home football stadium in 2020, including renovated premium seating and general admission alcohol sales, but limited attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic kept a large number of fans from getting to experience those new amenities.
Here are seven new things Gamecock fans can expect to notice as they head over to Williams-Brice for the 2021 season. Details were provided by Eric Nichols, USC’s senior associate athletics director for marketing and branding, and Lance Grantham, director of ticket operations.
1. Video board improvements
The 36-by-124-foot screen at Williams-Brice Stadium won’t change size-wise in 2021, but fans will likely notice a difference in video quality. First installed as a $6.5 million project for the 2012 season, the video board’s improvements had been on athletic director Ray Tanner’s radar before USC is installing a new screen. The school said the project was to solve a problem of “operational confidence,” given the old screen was nearing the end of its life. (Tanner has previously noted the board “wasn’t fully effective” last season or during spring graduation ceremonies.)
“Gamecock fans will be able to enjoy a new $2.4 million videoboard installed by ANC, a leading sports marketing and signage company,” the school announced Monday. “The new board will be nearly twice as sharp than the previous board.”
2. Shane Beamer’s ‘Welcome Home’ banner
The Gamecocks ushered in the Shane Beamer era with a new banner outside of the stadium centralized around the first-year head coach’s “Welcome Home” phrase. The Beamer-era banner includes a crescent and palmetto tree.
It is the third banner South Carolina has placed on the side of the stadium facing Bluff Road. The first featured Steve Spurrier and went up in 2014, but it was removed after Spurrier’s resignation in 2015. The most recent banner had an image of a single player wearing all black and coincided with the start of the Will Muschamp era.
3. New gameday hype videos
Expect Beamer to put his stamp on the fan experience inside Williams-Brice Stadium. Paired with USC’s new and creative media team directed by Justin King, Beamer teased new pregame and in-game videos on Twitter for his first season in Columbia. “If you think we had the best home field environment in the country already (WE DO) just wait until Sept 4!” he said in a recent tweet.
4. Alcohol sales — in a full-capacity stadium
While alcohol sales were actually new for the 2020 season, the school now has to prepare for the probability of a significantly larger market for adult beverages with a full-capacity Williams-Brice Stadium. Nichols said preparing for a larger number of fans, in terms of alcohol sales, is one of the primary challenges heading into 2021.
5. Premium seating, club level lounges debut in earnest
South Carolina finished four new and renovated club level lounges in Williams-Brice Stadium in 2020, but the $22.5 million premium seating project didn’t get a larger debut due to the pandemic. The new amenities also lowered stadium capacity from 80,250 to 77,559.
6. Spurs on the giant Gamecock statue
Another 2020 addition that received a modification ahead of this season, the 20-feet tall, 20-feet wide bronze Gamecock sculpture at the corner of Bluff Road and George Rogers Boulevard had spurs added to its legs over the summer. Some fans had previously expressed displeasure with the lack of spurs on the iconic Gamecock when it was installed before last season’s kickoff.
7. ‘Cockpit’ student section branding
USC officially branded its student section to “The Cockpit” in August, and Nichols said students can expect to see branded signage to be rolled out at its venues throughout the fall.
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 12:00 AM.
