Photo Gallery | Williams-Brice to get huge video board - earlier than originally planned
COLUMBIA, SC (TheBigSpur.com) - The new video board has officially been moved up a year. There have been rumblings in recent weeks that the new board would be installed prior to the start of the 2012 season instead of the original plan of 2013. It looks like that will happen.
The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the USC Board of Trustees met Friday morning to give Phase II approval to video board support construction at Williams-Brice Stadium. The committee was told the project would be completed by August 2012, a full year ahead of initial plans.
The committee voted to approve the project, which will cost approximately $6.5 million, a USC spokesperson confirmed with TheBigSpur.com late Friday morning. The majority of the funds ($5.25 million) will come from private donations. The rest will come from the operating budge.
Phase II approval of softball stadium construction was also granted by the Buildings and Grounds Committee in a session, which began at 9:30 a.m.
The full board is expected to approve the video board and softball projects, as well as the football practice facility Phase I, when it meets later this afternoon. The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee gave Phase I approval to the new indoor practice facility, which will be located at the back of the Farmers Market property, when it met on September 16, 2011.
The indoor facility is estimated to cost $13,937,865 for an 86,000 square foot building. The field turf surface will be 400 feet by 200 feet (or 133.3 yards by 66.7 yards). The building would be located in the very back corner of the Farmers Market complex. The land right beside it will be kept for either parking or outdoor practice fields, should the athletic department and the National Guard Armory’s deal expire in the future.
