Inside look at everything happening with Williams-Brice Stadium construction
A clock hangs from the east of Williams-Brice Stadium with big red numbers, counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until Aug. 13 — when phase one of the construction project is expected to be wrapped up.
The clock is a bit hard to see. All the other changes around the home of South Carolina football are not.
Beginning the day after the Gamecocks’ 2025 season wrapped up, construction crews totaling about 200 people have been working dusk til dawn, six days a week, on upgrading Willy-B.
If you drive down George Rogers Boulevard and take a peek at the stadium, the progress is impossible to miss.
The Floyd Building, which sat under the scoreboard and used to house the coaches’ offices, has come down. As has the winding ramp on the southwest side of Williams-Brice Stadium — you know, the one every high-schooler in Columbia seems to congregate on during game days.
This is just the start of a three-year, $350 million renovation project that will widen concourses, add concessions and restrooms, increase the suite count from 18 to 42, add premium seating, see two videoboards go up in the south end zone, provide a 25,000-square-foot club-like space for students and an open-air terrace above that for students to watch the game.
The Williams-Brice upgrades were designed by the renowned architecture firm Populous. The lead builder on the renovation is Contract Construction, which is headquartered in South Carolina and led numerous projects for the university. They partnered with Manhattan Construction Group, one of the largest college football stadium builders in the country.
With the scale of the project and still so many unknowns, The State walked around the Williams-Brice construction zone this week with Contract Construction CEO Greg Hughes, who helped answer some questions about the project.
The project is going to be done in three phases across three South Carolina football offseasons.
PHASE ONE
Estimated cost: $100 million with a timeline of Nov. 30, 2025 to Aug. 13, 2026
Construction highlights:
- Opening up the west- and east-side concourses. “The circulation is going to be so much better,” Hughes said
- Far more concession stands on both sides of the stadium.
- A drastic increase in restrooms, getting Williams-Brice up to code. It was woefully lacking bathrooms, especially women’s restrooms. (Sad for some: The men’s bathroom troughs will be gone.)
- New stair towers and a new elevator on the west side.
- Replacing the winding ramp on the southwest side of the stadium with a new, multi-level tower — which will eventually include new premium space and a scoreboard on top. That structure will be up in time for the 2026 season, but it will not be finished.
- The shell of the student club space. The space won’t be finished in time for the 2026 season.
Other Notes:
- A lot of the work going on right now includes driving piles (50-foot-long concrete supports) so new structures can be built. There are 6,000 feet of piles to drive by Feb. 20, Hughes said.
- The club space for the students will be plenty big. It’s also going to include an open-air space on the roof (there will be a canopy for shade) that will connect to the top row of the student section.
PHASE TWO
Estimated cost: $200 million with a timeline that starts after the 2026 season and goes through mid-August 2027.
Construction highlights:
- The top 10 rows on the west-lower side will be removed.
- The 42 suites on the 100- and 200- level of the west side will all be constructed.
- The field-level club space on the west side will be built.
- The student club space will be finished.
- The southwest tower will be completed.
- An escalator will be added on the west side, making it easier for fans to get to the upper concourse.
Other Notes:
- This will be the most-exhaustive phase. Crews will be working 24 hours a days, Hughes said.
- This is also the phase that will force South Carolina to re-seat fans on the west side.
- When Phase Two is complete, the renovation will be 90% done.
PHASE THREE
Estimated cost: $50 million, with a timeline that starts after the 2027 football season and finishes before the 2028 season.
Construction highlights:
- Put a scoreboard on the top of the southwest tower.
- Tear down the winding ramp in the southeast corner.
- Construct a tower in the southeast corner that mirrors the one on the southwest corner with the clubs and a scoreboard.
Is the renovation currently on schedule?
In short, yes.
The crews have completed all their demolition work on time and are moving on to drilling the piles.
“We’re right on track,” Hughes said.
Helping the cause: There hasn’t been any supply shortages or unforeseen price hikes.
“Luckily, the pricing has been right where we thought it would be,” Hughes said. “So we haven’t had any monetary surprises. There’s still time.”
Hughes expects construction on the west side to be completed in May and work on the east side finished in June.
Will there be construction happening during the 2026 season?
Sort of, but not really.
Williams-Brice Stadium is not going to be a massive construction zone during the 2026 season. South Carolina will still be able to draw its full capacity to home games.
As Hughes mentioned, Phase One will be done on Aug. 13. But the construction crews will be able to do some minor renovations in between home games.
One example: The crews will be able to install the glass on the outside of the 100- and 200-level concourses during the season. Before that’s complete, a temporary wall will be put up.
“The whole west side will be glass,” Hughes said. “On away games, we’ll work seven days a week. During home game (weeks), we’ll knock off Friday early.”
