16,000 people, 81,000-seat stadium: what happens when college football dominates a town
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, on a wooded patch overlooking a manmade lake at the fringes of the Clemson University campus, the James F Martin Inn is the demure retreat where thought leaders check in for national conferences on education and distressed parents check out before bidding their freshman babes one last teary farewell. Along with its pastoral trails, on-site dining and adjoining golf course with bunkers shaped to echo the tiger’s paw logo of the university’s football team, the inn offers one more luxury that’s likely to be of interest to rabid football fans: a 20-minute ramble to Memorial Stadium.
They call the stadium Death Valley, a name that nods at the withering powers of 81,500 Clemson fans at full throat. Even more resonant is their impact on this upstate town with a permanent population of just over 16,000, which makes a jump from the 33rd-largest city in South Carolina during summer break to among the state’s most populous on football Saturdays.
The tens of thousands who can’t get a seat inside Death Valley are happy to tailgate by land or lake. Much of the remaining overflow chokes College Avenue, where supporters clad in orange and purple pack themselves inside downtown bars and shops like cotton swabs. But when Covid swept through last year and snatched the life from this party, the knock-on effects smarted far worse than any defeat to South Carolina or Alabama. “Everything just kind of fell apart,” says Sharon Franks, the inn’s longtime general manager.
Football isn’t just the tide that floats Clemson’s $130m athletic department; it’s the lifeblood of this community. The local chamber of commerce reckons a single football game has a minimum economic impact of $2m – tax money that flows to policing, public works and other line items on the city’s $28m budget. Related businesses rake in as much as 50% of their annual revenue during the Tigers’ seven home games each year. “We are very blessed,” says Clemson mayor Robert Halfacre.
https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/16/clemson-tigers-stadium-economics-covid-college-football