As we prepare for hosting the Super Regional this weekend, I want to take a moment to go back to Sunday night/Monday and share what an undertaking it was to get the stadium ready again for the next day. As you know a severe thunderstorm halted the Regional game Sunday evening. Wind and lightning from the powerful storm blew debris all over and caused damage to the stadium.
The wind pulled the tarp off the infield and pushed vendor carts, tables, trash cans, etc. all over the stadium area as heavy rain blew in almost at a right angle. Fans who hadn't left for their cars huddled in the sheltered areas. From my perch in the press box I couldn't even see the field anymore from the rain just before we saw a giant flash of blue white light as a transformer blew and Carolina Stadium lost power.
Once the storm cleared, clean-up began almost immediately. The grounds crew came out quickly to assess the field and get to work under the dim glow of the emergency back-up lighting and facilities staff checked the stadium's condition. Among the damage surrounding the stadium, along the Wheat Street side a tree had fallen onto some power lines. SCE&G crews began the delicate process of cutting the tree to remove it (fortunately it did not break the lines).
SCE&G and university High Voltage Technician Tripp Sightler worked diligently until power was restored to Carolina Stadium around 1:45 a.m. Workers returned around 7:30 a.m. Monday morning and worked continuously until around 11:00 a.m. to get the stadium game-ready for the 1:00 p.m. re-start. It took approximately 140 man hours from athletics grounds and facilities staff, university and sub-contractor personnel to get the stadium back in order.
"Our goal was to clean-up and repair the damaged areas of the stadium as if the storm had never happened," said Jeff Davis, Associate AD for Facilities. "We achieved that through the hard work and commitment from everyone involved."
The hard work did not go unnoticed by Gamecock fans. Athletics received several emails about the clean-up and appreciation of how the stadium staff handled a difficult situation and some fans took to the internet to share their thoughts:
Comment from 'cocky girl' on one online discussion forum:
From Maria Martin Anderson on our Facebook page:
Thank you to everyone who did such a great job handling the storm's aftermath and getting the stadium back to game-ready on Monday!! The fans who were able to come back to the stadium got to witness a great NCAA Regional win for the Gamecocks.
Looking forward to seeing a packed house this weekend for the Super Regional vs. UConn!
GO GAMECOCKS!
-Brittany
The wind pulled the tarp off the infield and pushed vendor carts, tables, trash cans, etc. all over the stadium area as heavy rain blew in almost at a right angle. Fans who hadn't left for their cars huddled in the sheltered areas. From my perch in the press box I couldn't even see the field anymore from the rain just before we saw a giant flash of blue white light as a transformer blew and Carolina Stadium lost power.
View from the press box a few minutes before we lost power of the wind pulling up the tarp.
Once the storm cleared, clean-up began almost immediately. The grounds crew came out quickly to assess the field and get to work under the dim glow of the emergency back-up lighting and facilities staff checked the stadium's condition. Among the damage surrounding the stadium, along the Wheat Street side a tree had fallen onto some power lines. SCE&G crews began the delicate process of cutting the tree to remove it (fortunately it did not break the lines).
SCE&G and university High Voltage Technician Tripp Sightler worked diligently until power was restored to Carolina Stadium around 1:45 a.m. Workers returned around 7:30 a.m. Monday morning and worked continuously until around 11:00 a.m. to get the stadium game-ready for the 1:00 p.m. re-start. It took approximately 140 man hours from athletics grounds and facilities staff, university and sub-contractor personnel to get the stadium back in order.
"Our goal was to clean-up and repair the damaged areas of the stadium as if the storm had never happened," said Jeff Davis, Associate AD for Facilities. "We achieved that through the hard work and commitment from everyone involved."
The hard work did not go unnoticed by Gamecock fans. Athletics received several emails about the clean-up and appreciation of how the stadium staff handled a difficult situation and some fans took to the internet to share their thoughts:
Comment from 'cocky girl' on one online discussion forum:
"Kudos to those who had a hand in the recovery work required to put Carolina Stadium back in business. Exiting last night, looked a bit like a war zone with all the debris around the stadium. We had to look close this afternoon entering to find any residual marks on the facility. Although some of the vending carts still suffered from the ill effects of last night's storm, we didn't go wanting. The field was pristine, as always thanks to the best ground crew around. Looking forward to the Super Regional next weekend! GO COCKS!!!"
From Maria Martin Anderson on our Facebook page:
"Thanks to all the Carolina Stadium staff for making sure the fans were safe! The "behind the scenes" part of the stadium is awesome!"
Thank you to everyone who did such a great job handling the storm's aftermath and getting the stadium back to game-ready on Monday!! The fans who were able to come back to the stadium got to witness a great NCAA Regional win for the Gamecocks.
Looking forward to seeing a packed house this weekend for the Super Regional vs. UConn!
GO GAMECOCKS!
-Brittany
They left a camera on from one of the booths and it was wild how quick that storm blew in. There is no way people made it to their cars - that was wild. Hopefully nobody was hurt..