COLUMBIA, SC (CelebrityAccess) — With less than a week go before the start of the school’s football season, the University of South Carolina announced plans to replace the surface of its playing field after it was damaged during a concert by Beyonce and Jay-Z.
Williams-Brice Stadium, home to the University’s Gamecocks, hosted a concert by the first couple of hip-hop, who are currently on the road with their “On The Run II” tour. About 40,000 fans turned out for the concert and despite a hardcover laid over the field’s turf, the grass died.
Clark Cox, one of the school’s assistant athletic directors, told the Associated Press that he was anticipating the need to replace turf at the stadium when he first heard about the plans for the concert.
“We would not have done this if we believed there was a safety issue,” Cox told the Associated Press. “My job and our entire ground staff’s job, our No. 1 priority in everything we do, is safety and welfare of our student-athletes.”
Cox was quick to note that many dual-use sports and entertainment venues face similar challenges when hosting concerts.
According to the AP, concert organizers provided the estimated $150,000-$200,000 required to replace the 90,000-plus square feet of turf, which has already been replaced.
The grounds crew removed the dead grass, 26 truckloads of sod were brought in, and machines sized and rolled out the new turf, the AP reported.
