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The University of South Carolina has taken another step toward basic advancement around Williams-Brice Stadium and renovations to the stadium itself; Details remain limited.
The USC athletic branch met with the State Fiscal Responsibility Authority Tuesday in Columbia and won approval to begin soliciting proposals on what can be built on about 900 acres of land near the stadium and Congaree RiverArray.
“We’d like to take a look at the personal sector to see what interest it might generate,” USC athletics director Ray Tanner said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We think it would be solid. “
The university needs to create a significant new revenue stream for the university through an entertainment district and fund the stadium renovation that will further modernize the Gamecocks’ football stadium.
Any progression will be designed, built and funded through personal corporations and will not be owned, operated or funded through the university, according to meeting-specific documents indexed on the authority’s website. The USC will be more of a landlord than anything else, to make money off of much of the unused and/or underutilized real estate.
However, the university will be allowed to contract for the use of any facilities built on the assets for restaurants, student accommodation, university spaces or sports facilities, or acquire any long-term assets directly for those purposes, according to the documents.
Proceeds generated from rentals will be used for the design and structure of innovations for Williams-Brice Stadium or other university projects, the documents say.
USC’s progress in the application phase for this assignment comes 16 months after USC first announced the assignment. At the time, Tanner said it could take 12 to 15 months for initial plans for the university-owned land to progress, at most, to be shaped. of which it occupies an alluvial plain.
Before entering the bidding phase, South Carolina won more than two dozen programs and several written responses for the task, university spokesman Jeff Stensland said in April 2023. A structured schedule is not available at this time, however, USC said it does not expect the task to take effect on all local football matches.
The Gamecocks kick off the 2024 season at home on August 31 against Old Dominion.
South Carolina also said the task would include moving Williams-Brice Stadium from its current location, about five miles from campus, or acquiring/expanding the nearby state fairgrounds (something that had been rumored before USC’s plans were officially announced in February 2023). . ).
USC plans to first expand the box near the football stadium before moving to a second phase around the Colonial Life Arena, home of South Carolina’s men’s and women’s basketball, about five miles away. This continuation of the task would involve the expansion of 17 acres. near the arena, where several homes are owned or rented through USC.
University leaders said those spaces could generate $1 billion in revenue over time, and Tanner said USC hopes the assignment will attract other people to the dominance of Williams-Brice Stadium “365 days a year” with a configuration similar to Williams-Brice Stadium. , a popular entertainment district right next to the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, which is home to several restaurants, bars, shops, a movie theater, hotels, and much more outside the stadium gates.
Such a lucrative influx of money would do wonders for South Carolina, which must keep up with the “arms race” of school athletics, even though it has one of the SEC’s least wealthy athletic departments. USC ranks 12th out of 15 SEC public schools in terms of annual athletics-related revenue, according to a USA Today database on school finances.
Possible renovations to the Williams-Brice Stadium, which opened in 1934 and has undergone innovations over the decades, include: an increase in the number of seats in the high-end suites, the conversion of stands into individual seats, a major new video board (the existing one is more than 10 years old). Improved wardrobe, increased access to air conditioning and innovations in the student section.
South Carolina has spent more than $152 million to modernize its services since 2012, with the largest investment being its $50 million operating construction that opened before the 2019 season.
These projects are funded through fundraising and donor campaigns, USC’s own cash reserves, and loans.
But investing in stadium innovations through donations alone is difficult, especially as donors are now forced to choose between services and name, symbol, and likeness (NIL) opportunities for their contributions. USC’s athletic branch also operates with a $200 million “debt ceiling” over which it can borrow.
The amount available fluctuates as USC pays off this debt.
The South Carolina Department of Sports has lately generated profits through ticket sales, press rights, donations from major donors, the Gamecock Club, the SEC’s distribution of profits, and its apparel deal with Under Armour.