Game Day Information: Changes for Fans

(USC SID)– There are some big changes at Williams Brice as the Gamecocks get ready for the home opener. According to the University of South Carolina media site: Fans attending Carolina home games this season are encouraged to arrive early to avoid the normal game day traffic congestion around the stadium. All parking lots, including the former Farmers Market, the Fairgrounds, ETV, Capital City Stadium and National Guard Armory, will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Game day parking will be available in the Fairgrounds for $40 per space while a limited number of spaces will also be available in the back of the former Farmers Market. Again this season, gas grilling is permitted in the parking lots but charcoal grilling is prohibited. The Gamecocks’ new parking facility, located on the former Farmers Market site, will be open for the 2012 football season. This exciting, $30.5 million project includes shaded tent zones, cable TV hookups, electrical outlets, and permanent restrooms. The central open space, called the Garnet Way, is a grassy promenade lined with scarlet oaks and provides a route for the marching band, cheerleaders, and football team to parade through the venue on the way to the stadium. The Gamecock Walk will take place around 10 a.m. on Saturday. Once the team has completed its walk, the entire band will parade the full length of the Garnet Way, ending with a high-energy pep rally featuring the spirit squads. Also located across from Williams-Brice Stadium along Bluff Road, the Lexington Medical Center Gamecock Village will open four hours prior to kickoff. Attractions will include live music, photo opportunities with Cocky, a spacious merchandise location, kids’ inflatable games, interactive sponsor displays, a TV viewing area to watch other games of interest, and the live pregame radio show on the IMG College Gamecock Radio Network.