Destin, Fla. -- College football fans have been flocking to Williams-Brice Stadium to watch South Carolina for decades.
Each year is different, of course. But this year promises to be even more unique for eager Gamecock fans looking for USC to reach the 11-win plateau for the second straight season.
Between the new high definition 124' x 36' video scoreboard currently being installed and the $15 million project to transform the Farmer's Market area into a tailgating paradise for 3,000 vehicles, USC athletic department officials sincerely believe attending a USC football game this fall will be an entirely different experience than in the past.
The $6.5 million video board (the total cost includes construction of the control room underneath Williams-Brice Stadium) should put USC on par with most other SEC school. In terms of size, the total dimensions of the new video board are almost identical to the board at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
"Our fans that have been to other stadiums around the SEC would have a good barometer, but the in-stadium experience is going to be fantastic with that new video board," USC Assistant Athletics Director/Marketing Eric Nichols said on 107.5 FM The Game recently. "But before the game, in the old Farmer Market, that area will not only be beautiful and well manicured, but we'll have some new traditions."
The USC football team will exit the team buses and walk to Williams-Brice Stadium through the Farmer's Market along 'The Garnet Way,' described by Nichols as the 'central spine' of the enhanced site.
According to Nichols, the project's general contractor has informed USC that the Garnet Way will be lined with Scarlet Oak trees that turn a shade of garnet in the fall.
"If that's true, it will be quite a scene," Nichols said. "It will be beautiful."
The USC band will also have a prominent role in the pregame festivities.
"The band will play a couple of sets out there and then march into the stadium," Nichols said. "We're very excited about how game day will look like in 2012. It will be completely different."
The Farmer's Market, together with the State Fairgrounds, gives USC arguably two of the most convenient and breath-taking tailgating spots in the SEC as far as distance to the stadium is concerned.
"One of the common elements that pro and college sports share is a more developed fan fest area," Nichols said. "Formerly, we had the Athletics Village. Our fans have been to the College World Series and the Capital One Bowl and seen what they had there. That's the level of expectations we have for that Fan Fest area. It will be as big as a football field.
"Previously, we had what seemed like a 20-by-40 footprint area. We will be able to bring in some more national touring exhibits and attractions. We will have loud music. The Garnet Way will have sidewalks all around."
Pre-game festivities involving the band are expected to begin about 2-1/2 hours before kickoff. The football team should begin the walk through the Farmer's Market approximately two hours to kickoff.
"Our programming will begin about 2-1/2 hours to kickoff and we will have something to take the fans right up to kickoff to keep the fans entertained until they go into Williams-Brice," Nichols said.
The Farmer's Market will feature over 800 planted trees beautifying the area. Later, the rear portion of the property is expected to contain two practice fields and a full-field indoor facility.
USC officials believe 'there will definitely be some' parking spaces available to the general public at the renovated Farmers Market, which is the latest project beautifying and upgrading the entire Bluff Road area surrounding the stadium.
"It is open to everyone, even for fans that don't park there" Nichols said.
Initially, the new video board was supposed to be installed for the 2013 season, but pressure from fans and the willingness of the Board of Trustees and multiple government agencies to accelerate the mandated approval process allowed construction to move forward for this season.
The powerful steel beans supporting the massive board are currently being mounted into the ground. USC officials hope the board will be installed by Aug. 15 to give them adequate time to test the board and make sure it's functional when USC squares off with East Carolina in the 2012 home opener on Sept. 8.
"The structure should be up pretty soon," Nichols said. "The next friction point is the control room and getting all that equipment installed and functioning properly and talking to one another. As you can imagine, it's a pretty major ordeal down there in the guts of Williams-Brice Stadium."
The USC marketing department launched another "It's Great To Be A Gamecock" video on May 21 on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
The inspiring 90-second video celebrating the historic 11-win season in 2011 will also air on the Columbia network TV affiliates during the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. local news broadcasts.
"Experience it for the first time ... Again" is the central message weaving through USC's slick marketing campaign.
"We believe that coming to a Carolina football game this year will be so different that it will be like the first game you ever attended in Williams-Brice Stadium," Nichols said in a press release. "The line is also a nod to Coach (Steve) Spurrier and the list of `firsts' he has accomplished since he has been head coach at South Carolina."
Spurrier enters his eighth season as USC head coach in 2012 just nine victories short of the school record for most wins by a Gamecock coach.
Link: http://southcarolina...asp?CID=1369855
Each year is different, of course. But this year promises to be even more unique for eager Gamecock fans looking for USC to reach the 11-win plateau for the second straight season.
Between the new high definition 124' x 36' video scoreboard currently being installed and the $15 million project to transform the Farmer's Market area into a tailgating paradise for 3,000 vehicles, USC athletic department officials sincerely believe attending a USC football game this fall will be an entirely different experience than in the past.
The $6.5 million video board (the total cost includes construction of the control room underneath Williams-Brice Stadium) should put USC on par with most other SEC school. In terms of size, the total dimensions of the new video board are almost identical to the board at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
"Our fans that have been to other stadiums around the SEC would have a good barometer, but the in-stadium experience is going to be fantastic with that new video board," USC Assistant Athletics Director/Marketing Eric Nichols said on 107.5 FM The Game recently. "But before the game, in the old Farmer Market, that area will not only be beautiful and well manicured, but we'll have some new traditions."
The USC football team will exit the team buses and walk to Williams-Brice Stadium through the Farmer's Market along 'The Garnet Way,' described by Nichols as the 'central spine' of the enhanced site.
According to Nichols, the project's general contractor has informed USC that the Garnet Way will be lined with Scarlet Oak trees that turn a shade of garnet in the fall.
"If that's true, it will be quite a scene," Nichols said. "It will be beautiful."
The USC band will also have a prominent role in the pregame festivities.
"The band will play a couple of sets out there and then march into the stadium," Nichols said. "We're very excited about how game day will look like in 2012. It will be completely different."
The Farmer's Market, together with the State Fairgrounds, gives USC arguably two of the most convenient and breath-taking tailgating spots in the SEC as far as distance to the stadium is concerned.
"One of the common elements that pro and college sports share is a more developed fan fest area," Nichols said. "Formerly, we had the Athletics Village. Our fans have been to the College World Series and the Capital One Bowl and seen what they had there. That's the level of expectations we have for that Fan Fest area. It will be as big as a football field.
"Previously, we had what seemed like a 20-by-40 footprint area. We will be able to bring in some more national touring exhibits and attractions. We will have loud music. The Garnet Way will have sidewalks all around."
Pre-game festivities involving the band are expected to begin about 2-1/2 hours before kickoff. The football team should begin the walk through the Farmer's Market approximately two hours to kickoff.
"Our programming will begin about 2-1/2 hours to kickoff and we will have something to take the fans right up to kickoff to keep the fans entertained until they go into Williams-Brice," Nichols said.
The Farmer's Market will feature over 800 planted trees beautifying the area. Later, the rear portion of the property is expected to contain two practice fields and a full-field indoor facility.
USC officials believe 'there will definitely be some' parking spaces available to the general public at the renovated Farmers Market, which is the latest project beautifying and upgrading the entire Bluff Road area surrounding the stadium.
"It is open to everyone, even for fans that don't park there" Nichols said.
Initially, the new video board was supposed to be installed for the 2013 season, but pressure from fans and the willingness of the Board of Trustees and multiple government agencies to accelerate the mandated approval process allowed construction to move forward for this season.
The powerful steel beans supporting the massive board are currently being mounted into the ground. USC officials hope the board will be installed by Aug. 15 to give them adequate time to test the board and make sure it's functional when USC squares off with East Carolina in the 2012 home opener on Sept. 8.
"The structure should be up pretty soon," Nichols said. "The next friction point is the control room and getting all that equipment installed and functioning properly and talking to one another. As you can imagine, it's a pretty major ordeal down there in the guts of Williams-Brice Stadium."
The USC marketing department launched another "It's Great To Be A Gamecock" video on May 21 on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
The inspiring 90-second video celebrating the historic 11-win season in 2011 will also air on the Columbia network TV affiliates during the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. local news broadcasts.
"Experience it for the first time ... Again" is the central message weaving through USC's slick marketing campaign.
"We believe that coming to a Carolina football game this year will be so different that it will be like the first game you ever attended in Williams-Brice Stadium," Nichols said in a press release. "The line is also a nod to Coach (Steve) Spurrier and the list of `firsts' he has accomplished since he has been head coach at South Carolina."
Spurrier enters his eighth season as USC head coach in 2012 just nine victories short of the school record for most wins by a Gamecock coach.
Link: http://southcarolina...asp?CID=1369855
Last edited by a moderator:
