South Carolina touts ‘historic partnership’ that will benefit Williams-Brice Stadium
South Carolina is set to announce a “historic partnership” with Blanchard Machinery in a press conference set for 3 p.m. Monday.
“This transformative collaboration,” USC wrote in a Sunday press release, “will benefit Gamecock Athletics for years to come and specifically impact Williams-Brice Stadium enhancements.”
While additional details weren’t immediately known, Monday’s announcement is expected to reveal some sort of stadium-related sponsorship from Blanchard.
Blanchard Machinery, which includes Blanchard CAT and Blanchard CAT rentals, is headquartered in West Columbia and run by President and CEO Boyd Blanchard as well as Executive Vice President Rozier Blanchard — both of whom are graduates of South Carolina.
Both of the Blanchards, as well as South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati, are scheduled to speak at Monday’s press conference.
Since Donati took over in January, he has been very vocal about the Gamecocks finding new revenue streams to ensure the Gamecocks can thrive in the revenue-sharing era. The untapped cash cow is Williams-Brice Stadium and the renovation — which is scheduled to begin after the 2025 season — that will add more suites and premium space to the stadium and help generate more money.
While the renovations won’t wrap up until August 2027, the immediate priority during construction is on the west side, where the Gamecocks are going to gut most of their club areas to boost their suite totals. After this round of construction, Williams-Brice Stadium is expected to move from an SEC-low 18 suites to 43 (33 regular suites and 10 founders suites), which will generate millions in additional revenue for USC.
Elsewhere in the stadium, USC is expected to add more restrooms, enhance the concession stands and provide “some general cleanup of the concourse area so we can provide more space for our fans coming and going,” Donati has previously said.
Two new videoboards are planned for the south end zone. And over in the north end zone, USC could add a club-like, air-conditioned area behind the student section.
This story was originally published August 10, 2025 at 7:24 PM with the headline "South Carolina touts ‘historic partnership’ that will benefit Williams-Brice Stadium."
