South Carolina Increases Capacity For Spring Game

The Shane Beamer era has started at South Carolina, and now more fans will get to see how things are taking shape. That's because the athletic department announced it has increased attendance for the annual spring game, which takes place Saturday, April 24.

Initially, attendance for the Garnet and Black Game was set at 9,000. But South Carolina changed that to 15,000, athletic director Ray Tanner announced in a statement Thursday.

The reason? Well, it's mostly because Prisma Health has partnered with the school to host a COVID-19 vaccination site -- right across the street from the football stadium in Gamecock Park, no less.

“As we developed our initial plans for the spring game, it was important that we did not interrupt Prisma’s ability to effectively provide vaccinations,” Tanner said. “As vaccinations became more widely available over the last month, it also became more feasible for Prisma’s vaccination clinic and the spring game to operate simultaneously without negatively impacting vaccination efforts. We’re looking forward to hosting our great fans at the Garnet and Black Spring Game while continuing to partner with Prisma to serve the community.”

As an aside, it should be noted that there won't be any parking available at Gamecock Park. Admission is free for Gamecock Club members and $5 per ticket for the general public.

The Gamecocks finished 2-8 last season, then hired Beamer in December in hopes that he can rebuild the program. Beamer is the son of longtime Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and had been serving as assistant head coach under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma since 2018.