Is this the last year for Williams-Brice Stadium as we know it?
——This is part of a summer series. Leading up to the start of South Carolina’s 2025 season, The State is answering 25 of the most interesting questions surrounding the Gamecocks football team. This is No. 6——
Count Greg Hughes among the minority of South Carolina fans excited that the 2025 Palmetto Bowl drew the noon time slot.
The CEO of Contract Construction — which is a part of the team in charge of the Williams-Brice Stadium renovations — joked that the second Carolina-Clemson goes final on Nov. 29, he’ll start his stopwatch and ready his crew to begin work.
“I hope we win by 100, get out of there and we can get started,” said Hughes, a 1994 graduate of the USC Honors College.
“I’m actually glad it’s a noon game, because we could possibly start at about 5 o’clock,” he added. “We’ll start tearing some stuff up and get going.”
There will be no time to waste. There are 281 days between the 2025 home finale against Clemson and the Gamecocks’ 2026 season/home opener against Miami — giving Hughes’ crew (and many others working on the project) just over nine months to revamp Williams-Brice Stadium without interfering too much with the football season.
While the renovations won’t wrap up until August 2027, the immediate priority during construction is on the west side, where the Gamecocks are going to gut most of their club areas to boost their suite totals.
After this round of construction, Williams-Brice Stadium is expected to move from an SEC-low 18 suites to 43 (33 regular suites and 10 founders suites), which will generate millions in additional revenue for USC.
But those aren’t the changes most Carolina fans will notice. No, a majority of folks will be most interested in how USC widens the concourses, how it upgrades bathrooms that look like they were built during the Great Depression.
How their viewing experience is upgraded with the addition of two video boards in the corners of the south end zone. How much, if they’re a student, the air-conditioned space under the student section will keep them from leaving tearly. How much time those with tickets in the south end of the upper deck will save when the ramps are replaced with escalators.
The upgrades — as South Carolina administrators are eager to tell you — will touch every person who walks into Williams-Brice Stadium. At some point during a 2027 home football game, a Gamecocks fan in Willy-B will be impacted by some part of the renovation.
Ninety-five percent of that change will be positive. The other 5 percent involves change. It’s the 30-year season-ticket holders who will have to move seats to make room for the suites. Or the folks — and, yes, they exist — who either loved walking up those windy ramps or just loved how they looked.
That stuff will take some getting used to. Everything else can’t come soon enough for South Carolina, especially for its finances. But for those nostalgic about those looping ramps or peeing on a wall, make sure to soak it all in this season.
25 QUESTIONS FOR THE 2025 SEASON:
No. 25 — What South Carolina positions have the most question marks heading into season?
No. 24 — A Gamecocks victory over Va. Tech would be biggest season-opening win since when?
No. 23 — How will South Carolina’s QB room shake out in 2025 and beyond?
No. 22 — If USC beat Bama or LSU in ’24, would national conversation be different right now?
No. 21 — Can the Gamecocks’ offensive line take a step forward in 2025?
No. 20 — What former South Carolina football player will get his jersey retired next?
No. 19 — Can South Carolina get to the LSU game undefeated?
No. 18 — Will Fred Johnson be South Carolina’s next great LB?
No. 17 — What’s the most important stretch in USC’s 2025 schedule?
No. 16 — Can South Carolina’s defense stay elite despite all its roster turnover?
No. 15 — What South Carolina school records could be broken in 2025?
No. 14 — What’s the ceiling for USC’s running backs, with or without Rahsul Faison?
No. 13 — Can South Carolina’s special teams get back to Beamer Ball standard?
No. 12 — Have Gamecocks found right balance of high school football talent, transfers?
No. 11 — How will Shane Beamer go viral this year with South Carolina?
No. 10 — Is South Carolina too young at wide receiver?
No. 9 — Is this South Carolina’s easiest schedule in the Shane Beamer era?
No. 8 — Will there be noticeable changes in Mike Shula’s offense at South Carolina?
No. 7 — Can South Carolina football stay relatively healthy again in 2025?
No. 6 — Is this the last year for Williams-Brice Stadium as we know it?
No. 5 — What does a path to the playoff look like for South Carolina?
No. 4 — What happens if South Carolina football is no longer an underdog?
No. 3 — How would a 10-win season in 2025 shape Shane Beamer’s legacy in Columbia?
No. 2 — Can Dylan Stewart have a better season than Jadeveon Clowney did in 2012?
No. 1 — Can LaNorris Sellers become the best QB in South Carolina history?
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
