Gamecocks' stadium keeps rising

COLUMBIA — Down in the dumps after his team was surprisingly swept at Louisiana State, Ray Tanner needed a refuge late Sunday night.

He found it in a dark jungle of cinder block and dirt.

That's how the casual observer views the downtown Columbia construction site, anyway. But not Tanner.

To South Carolina's baseball coach, it's the future of his already strong program. And, well, it's his baby.

Lindsay Semple/MCT

South Carolina coach Ray Tanner expects the Gamecocks’ new $36 million baseball stadium to be ready later this fall.

That baby is a $36 million in-the-works stadium that's set to open for play in 2009. The field is expected to be playable in the fall.

Tanner and others estimated Wednesday that it's currently about 35 percent complete.

Originally, the plan was to be in for this season. But Tanner and other school officials determined late last year that the sizable project didn't need to be rushed.

"When it's all said and done, I think it's going to be worth the wait," said USC athletic director Eric Hyman, adding that waiting a few more months makes sense when considering the stadium will last for decades.

Hyman joked during a tour Wednesday that he's had to enforce a restraining order to keep Tanner from meddling with Ballentine-based Contract Construction's work.

Kidding aside, Sunday, it was Tanner's safe haven.

"I needed a pick-me-up," Tanner said. "I needed some positive energy."

You've got to use your imagination at this point, but trying to conjure the image of what's to come does supply some good vibes.

Standing behind home plate, you look into the subtly pleasant capital city skyline.

You see the outfield walls beginning to shape the field of play, with dimensions similar to Sarge Frye Field. (How the wind off the nearby Congaree River will play in, no one knows for certain.)

Beyond the walls in the gaps, you see where the bullpens will exist.

Earlier, you walked around what will be the expansive USC clubhouse, featuring spacious batting cages, locker rooms and offices.

In fact, much of the structural work going on right now is focused on the clubhouse area. The actual stadium, beyond the field of play and its framework, is still yet to come. That includes five suites, two club areas and the dining terrace.

One current Gamecock embarked on the tour Wednesday with the media. Freshman outfielder Whit Merrifield marveled at what soon will become his playing home.

The North Carolina native said the new stadium, promised to incoming players for years, was a factor in his decision to come to USC, but not a determining one.

However, he noted the strong advantage it'll bear when it comes time to draw in fresh recruits. Merrifield said it's the first place he'll take a prospect when he visits.

Tanner said an arms race exists in college baseball. If so, his new stadium is essentially atomic.

"This puts us into a different category," Tanner said. "If you bring a young man here, he's going to be impressed."

Despite the flash and glitz of the new place, everyone involved acknowledges that old, charming Sarge Frye will be missed.

Still, moving to what's in effect a classy minor league park is impossible to pass up.

"The Sarge isn't shabby," Merrifield said, "but this is very big, very new."

Hyman reminded reporters that the baseball stadium is one of the first puzzle pieces in his plan for athletic facilities on campus. Among the others in the infant stages of construction are an academic center and a football sports medicine area inside Williams-Brice Stadium.

As for a name for the new baseball park, Hyman said the school is currently in "deep discussions" with suitors to grab rights for both the field and the stadium.

Between the two bidders, they'll pay for about $13 million of the project, the school says. It says the rest of the money will come from private donations and the USC's ongoing capital campaign.

With the midweek off because of final exams, the Gamecocks (31-14, 11-10 SEC) return home this weekend to face Florida (27-16, 12-9) in a pivotal series to rectify the LSU sweep.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com.