Project set to complete before Opening Day 2014
USC’s board of trustees approved a $4.965 million project May 28 intended to mitigate the settlement of dirt near Carolina Stadium’s left field that has caused cracking in sidewalks and the stadium’s facade.
The high price tag comes from the amount of engineering work the project requires, which USC spokesman Wes Hickman said is “pretty significant.”
The project would require seats to be temporarily removed, bases to be placed into bedrock and a large amount of concrete work, Hickman said.
The multi-million undertaking will be funded with athletic operating funds and is set for completion before opening day of the 2014 baseball season. While this means it may overlap with the Gamecocks’ preseason practices, “the plan is to be as non-disruptive as possible as we finish up the work,” Hickman said.
Director of Facilities Design and Construction Jeffrey Lamberson said in a release that the university had determined the timeline’s plausibility with an outside engineering firm in order to “minimize impact on the Carolina Baseball fan experience.”
The stadium will be only five years old once the project is completed. It replaced Sarge Frye Field in 2009, and the Gamecocks won national championships in the two years following its opening.
“We paid for a world class facility and that’s what we expect to have,” Derek Gruner, director of facilities planning and programming, said in a release.
There are no immediate dangers or other safety concerns at the ballpark. The university is currently searching for architectural, engineering and construction firms for the project.