Home game in Jacksonville? South Carolina dominates Gator Bowl ticket sales
Don’t adjust your TV screen if you’re watching Friday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl from home: That’s not South Carolina taking on Notre Dame at Williams-Brice Stadium.
It might look like it, though, just based on the overwhelming ticket demand from the Gamecocks’ fan base.
South Carolina will account for more than 40,000 of the tickets sold for this year’s Gator Bowl, according to a Twitter post made by national college football writer Matt Hayes. TIAA Bank Field, home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, has a capacity of 67,164.
The Gator Bowl is expecting around 65,000 fans for Friday’s game, bowl president and CEO Greg McGarity told reporters Thursday.
“It’s been incredible,” McGarity said of the Gamecocks’ demand for tickets. “They moved a significant amount of tickets. I think the vast majority (in the stadium) will be South Carolina fans.”
Credit that demand to an eight-win South Carolina season that finished with wins over Top 10 teams Tennessee and rival Clemson. It’s also the USC program’s first trip to Gator Bowl in 35 years and a relatively short drive for fans making the trip from the Palmetto State (about five hours).
“This is like a perfect storm,” said Lance Grantham, USC’s director of ticketing and customer relations. “It all really lined up perfectly.”
According to a TIAA Bank Field graphical layout promoted by South Carolina, the university and the Gamecock Club sold tickets in 87 of the stadium’s 135 sections to Gamecock fans. By comparison, 16 sections are designated for Notre Dame supporters. South Carolina even sold tickets in two sections the Fighting Irish fans were not using.
Seats sold through USC were either $125 (club), $100 (lower bowl) or $65 (upper bowl).
“We’ve got a majority of those sections, or a good chunk of seats in each of those sections,” Grantham said.
A new program record?
South Carolina started with a ticket allotment of 3,000, which is Grantham said is now standard for SEC-affiliated bowls. The university worked with the bowl to raise that figure based on USC fan demand.
According to Grantham, USC fielded 10,000 requests for tickets by the end of Sunday, in the hours after the Gator Bowl matchup was announced.
“By Wednesday it was 15,000, and by Friday when we finished up it was over 20,000,” Grantham said. “We went back and got every ticket for our fans for what they asked for through us.”
Officially, 20,319 tickets were sold through USC and the Gamecock Club. The rest of the Gamecocks-specific purchases were made through the Gator Bowl website.
“I’m really proud of the fan base for coming back to us to keep ordering and keep getting extras,” Grantham said. “It’s been a great response.”
That 20,000-plus figure might be a program record for postgame ticket interest. The university sold 17,000 tickets for the Gamecocks’ 2010 SEC championship game appearance, Grantham said.
USC sold 5,000 to 5,500 tickets a year ago for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
Selling and distributing a larger number of tickets is easier now that most seats are sold digitally — vs. the old print-and-mail process — Grantham said.
Friday’s bowl game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. USC coach Shane Beamer joked on Twitter about Interstate 95 being a parking lot thanks to Gamecocks fans making the trip to Jacksonville.
“Sorry #GamecockNation,” Beamer said Thursday on social media. “Hope everyone made it safely. All of us w @GamecockFB are grateful for you making the trip. NOW, It’s time to take over Jacksonville.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 11:49 AM.
