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Gamecock tickets become rarer

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- For the sixth consecutive season, South Carolina has sold out Williams-Brice Stadium.

Ticket manager Chris Masarro said a record 61,700 season tickets have been sold. The demand was so great, he said, there are no single-game seats left.

Masarro has been turning down requests left and right for a long time.

"We're in an overflow situation," he said. "People want more tickets. No one's giving them up.

"It's like trying to fill a full glass of water."

South Carolina fans are famous for their loyalty, continually filling 80,250-seat Williams-Brice during poor seasons. Now they're coming off the best two-year period in Gamecock history.

After going 0-11 in coach Lou Holtz's first season, South Carolina is 17-7 with back-to-back victories at the Outback Bowl in Tampa.

Holtz regularly has marveled at supporters' affection here. He has said he wants success as much for them as for his players and assistants.

Masarro said he wasn't sure fans could surpass the more than 57,000 season tickets sold last year, the school's high.

"I try not to be surprised by Carolina fans' support," he said. "But every year, I am a little bit."

For those who don't have tickets, probably the best way to see the Gamecocks, Masarro said, is travel with the team.

About the only way for fans to get any home relief (short of a Gamecock collapse) is expansion at Williams-Brice.

"I'm ready to get my hammer and nails and go over there right now," said Masarro, greeting visitors at the construction site of the school's new arena.

Masarro said there are preliminary plans to work on the stadium's north end zone. He said about 8,000 seats (a similar number were added to the south end zone in 1996 for the stadium's last major project) could fit over the school's current football building.

"I expect that's going to be more of a front-burner issue as we move deeper into fall," Masarro said.

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