Williams-Brice Stadium upgrades are impressive. These 10 things stand out By Jordan Kaye Updated September 2, 2026 4:12 PM South Carolina will welcome fans into a renovated Williams-Brice on Saturday. Well, semi-renovated. While Phase 1 is complete, the total transformation of Willy-B won’t conclude until 2028, three years, three phases and $350 million after the project began. The first phase, though, is perhaps the most important because — unlike Phase 2, which is centered around adding suites and premium areas — Phase 1 is about the things every fan cares about. Bathrooms, concessions, concourse width, branding. On Wednesday, South Carolina officials took the media on a tour of the stadium. Here are 10 things that stood out. 1. The branding has stepped up dramatically A year ago, you could have walked through the concourse of Williams-Brice and hardly known what team played there. It was a concrete jungle with its charm, deriving from its age and simplicity. Phase 1 of the stadium renovations changed that. It is still a concrete jungle, but more of that concrete is covered by signage and logos and murals and color — all of these small touches that make it clear where you are and who you’re supporting. There are finally odes to history Stadium concourses can be museums, capable of adding to the grandeur of the setting and making it more special. For example, Madison Square Garden’s concourse is lined with glass displays showcasing the most-famous moments in the most-famous arena, providing this extra sense of wonder that you’re actually there. 2. There is a story worth telling about Williams-Brice Stadium, things worth sharing. On the east side of the stadium, as fans walk through the gates, there is a big poster explaining the origin of Sandstorm. Across the way is a similar poster explaining how "2001" came to be and why it’s’ the best entrance in college football. Then throughout the concourse are banners of the program record holders. Their names and records are still listed on the winding ramps in the end zones, but these banners just look better. Sharp colors. A nice picture. An appreciation of history. 3. Small touches stand out Speaking of the small details that go a long way, here are two more: On the east side of the stadium is an exhibit showing off the six reigning high school football state champions, which includes the team’s helmet, a picture from the title game and the score of the game. That display will be updated each year. Also spanning the entire east ground-level concourse is a row of garnet-and-black light fixtures that mimic the "2001" entrance. The lights are expected to be wired to match whatever music and lights are playing on the scoreboard. In other words: You can run to the bathroom and still participate in Sandstorm. 4. Bathrooms galore Speaking of bathrooms, there are far more of them. As any woman who’s attended a Gamecock game can tell you, this change was needed. The bathrooms themselves are solid. But the best bathroom is an available one, and there should be plenty of those on Saturdays. 5. Grab-and-go concessions will save time ... And on the topic of convenience, South Carolina has basically transformed Williams-Brice into a “grab-and-go” palace. From the areas we could see, there are no more stands where you stand in a single-file line and wait to order and pay. Everything is now a streamlined process where you grab your food and drinks as you walk, then pay at the end. Some stations even have touchless checkout. If you’ve been to an airport recently, you’ve probably seen this tech, but all you do is set your food down, some AI camera scans it automatically and you pay. Easy-peasy. While there are plenty of beverage-only grab-and-go stations throughout the concourse, the bigger stands are the ones with food. And those will be popular on Saturdays because they are enclosed in glass and air-conditioned. 5. ... but they may not save you money Though South Carolina did not opt for the Mercedes-Benz Stadium value pricing, some items are not outrageously priced. Before tax, sodas are under $5. Hot dogs are under $6. Nachos are under $7. An offering called “Forever to Thee Mac & Cheese” is $13. But fair warning: A 12-ounce seltzer is over $16 after tax. 6. Heat preparations South Carolina would have probably liked to unveil the Phase 1 renovation to fans any time other than 12:45 p.m. during the first week of September, but they don’t control the TV schedule. Across Williams-Brice, there are a number of fans, cooling stations (large misting fans), water-bottle-filling stations and, as mentioned, air-conditioned concession areas. They’ve created some reprieve from the heat, but it’s on fans to stay hydrated. 7. Explaining move to digital-only tickets While not directly stadium-related, South Carolina is moving to digital-only ticketing. Perhaps sadly, this is the way of the world now. Venues are no longer using physical tickets and, thus, they no longer send those out to season-ticket holders. One USC athletics source noted that this was a change driven by Ticketmaster, which makes sense considering the company has been trending away from physical tickets for years, often citing the security measures of digital tickets that cut down on counterfeit concerns. There are positives and negatives. For many, it’s much easier handing an extra ticket to someone versus having to digitally send a ticket — especially if they’re not technologically-inclined. But for those with tickets, try to add download them to your Apple Wallet before gameday. If you can’t do that and you can’t connect to pull up your tickets on game day, there will be Wi-Fi tents on the northwest and northeast corners of the stadium where you can go and connect. 8. Why fans have to enter through specific gates While you’re looking at your tickets, make sure you check to see what gate you need to enter. The gate number will also be shown on your digital ticket. This season, because of the construction on the north side of the stadium, it’s going to be tougher getting from the east to west side and vice versa. To account for that, USC is requiring fans go into the stadium through designated gates (those nearest their seats). If you need to know what gate to enter through — and to map out your route ahead of time — go to this website. 9. The visiting locker room is cramped We’ve written at length about the new visiting team locker room at Williams-Brice Stadium, why South Carolina moved it to the east side and how quarterback LaNorris Sellers played a part in its design. We finally got to see it Wednesday. The walls are white. The lockers are black. And, well, that’s about it. There are no frills and, more importantly, not a lot of space. The lockers run in long rows with no space big enough to gather, which should make pregame and halftime speeches a bit trickier. Still, the area is new and thus nicer than what visiting teams had in the southwest corner. 10. Construction will continue through the season, stealthily There is not some three-month-long construction pause now that the season has started. Crews will work throughout the year, mainly working on the glass facade that will run across the majority of the west side while also laying as much piping and duct work as they can. Crews will work all week when USC is out of town and be on site from Sunday to lunchtime Thursday when the Gamecocks (Shop gamecocks) have a home game. Asked if fans would be able to notice the ongoing work, Contract Construction CEO Greg Hughes smiled. “They won’t even know we were here,” he said.
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