New restrooms, no spiral rampway: Here’s what’s new for Gamecock football fans this season

COLUMBIA — For those attending South Carolina’s opening football game Saturday against Kent State, it will be a new experience at Williams-Brice Stadium.

They’ll be some confusion, a bit of frustration, maybe some dust as crews worked through this week to complete phase one of what the university calls a “reimagined” version of an arena that’s served as the school’s college football home since 1934.

There will be plenty of wow moments, too, at the new restroom facilities, the wider concourses, the multiple, gleaming, grab-and-go food and drink stations, and the premium Cockaboose Club near the venerable train cars lined up on the far side of the stadium.

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When the $350 million project is completed — there are two more phases, mostly during the next two offseasons — it will be “one of the best” stadiums in the Southeastern Conference, according to South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati.

The project was a long-planned endeavor to modernize a stadium that sometimes felt like it was still stuck in the last century, when fans didn’t worry so much about comfort and schools were not looking to improve profitability through premium space activities.

But college athletics, like many other areas, is in an era where those who pay, sometimes thousands of dollars, for tickets, parking, athletic department donations and concessions want amenities like comfortable seats, air-conditioned spaces to watch and reliable Wi-Fi to keep their smartphones and tablets updated.

Williams-Brice has more of that going forward.

One of the biggest complaints about the building Donati got after taking over as athletic director in January 2025 was about restrooms, specifically women’s restrooms.

The stadium had long lines for its woefully few bathrooms for women. This project has addressed most of those needs with 33, gleaming new restrooms for women — more than five times the fixtures it had before.

Throughout the entrances and walkways are fresh new signage with the school’s athletic tag lines, such as “Welcome Home” and “Forever To Thee.”

There are banners along the concourses of some of the South Carolina’s football greats and displays of game-day traditions like “Sandstorm” and “2001.”

Among the many new conveniences are the in-and-out, concession cafes where patrons can pick out hot food, cold sandwiches and beverages and pay through an electronic cashier that identifies what you purchased and quickly calculates your price.

There are several cold cases across the aisle with alcoholic drinks for those who wish a cold one while they watch the Gamecocks.

“The days of reaching into a tub of ice are gone,” Donati said.

A silver, metal Gamecock statue that was part of the one-time coaches’ offices in the demolished Floyd Building across from the Fairgrounds is set up in the redone East Entrance.

Nearby is a display featuring all the reigning state high school football champions in case any potential future Gamecocks from those schools are there on a future visit.

The area outside the student section, “The Cockpit,” has been expanded as a shady gathering area for them.

The visiting locker room has been moved across the field to the east side of the stadium, far away from Bluff Road. It’s spacious, clean and comfortable, serviceable for opponents. South Carolina planners did not take a page from other schools, like Iowa, in gamesmanship in choosing a color for the walls in the locker room.

“It’s not pink,” joked Wesley Malette, South Carolina deputy athletic director and chief marketing officer.

The switch was also done so visiting teams wouldn’t take the field from their traditional tunnel during South Carolina’s “2001” entrance.

Two of the most striking things fans will notice are the stairs on the Bluff Road side off the stadium and the absence of the nearby spiral rampway, a longtime defining feature of the building that was removed for the renovation.

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There will be escalators installed for fan comfort in time for the 2027 season.

That phase will also include renovation of South Carolina’s home locker area along with a plush, modern recruiting room to entertain future generations of Gamecocks.

The university will expand its luxury areas and reseat the stadium, with capacity falling to about 73,459 from its current level of 77,500.

There will be some undone areas fans can’t help seeing this season. Crews will keep working throughout football season “to get a jump on what comes next,” said Greg Hughes, CEO of Contract Construction.

It’s an undertaking South Carolina had to do to keep pace with the rest of the country.

Donati, previously the athletic director at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, had long heard about South Carolina’s unparalleled game-day experience. He wanted a stadium equal to that for fans.

“It will be one of the nicest stadiums in the SEC and the best game-day experience,” Donati said.