Citadel pursuing plans for major improvement to Johnson Hagood Stadium

Early in the new year The Citadel will be exploring possibilities to replace the deteriorated eastside stands at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

“The Citadel Board approved a motion allowing the administration to move forward with the demolition of the eastside stands of Johnson Hagood Stadium,” said Lt. Gen. John B. Sams, Jr., chairman of The Citadel Board of Visitors. “We will be working closely with our adjacent neighborhoods and the Board of Architectural Review.”

The original stadium was constructed in the 1920s, renovated in 1948, with the westside stands rebuilt in the 2000s. The eastside stands and associated facilities are the oldest existing portion of the stadium. They serve as the visitors’ section during the Bulldogs football games and can seat approximately 9,300 people, although seating was reduced this past season due to the deteriorated condition of the facility.

In the fall of 2016, an extensive review of possibilities for phased improvements to the eastside structure conducted by the college revealed that structural steel upgrades and seismic retrofitting, among other costly upgrades, would be required. After reviewing all option in early December, The Citadel Board of Visitors determined that renovation was not feasible and decided to move forward with razing the structure.

Following the guidance of the Board of Architectural Review and the city of Charleston’s regulations as well as input from neighborhood representatives, the college hopes to demolish the stands, replace them with a temporary structure, and begin pursuing funding for a permanent, new structure.

About The Citadel

The Citadel with its iconic campus located in Charleston, South Carolina, offers a classic military college education for young men and women profoundly focused on leadership excellence and academic distinction. Approximately 30 percent of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets commission as officers in every branch of U.S. military service upon graduating. Citadel alumni have served the nation, their state and their communities as principled leaders since the college was founded in 1842. The Citadel Graduate College offers more than 70 graduate degrees, graduate certificates, and evening undergraduate programs with many courses available online. The Citadel has been named Best Public College in the South for six consecutive years, and No.1 Best Public College for Veterans in the South by U.S. News and World Report as well as the best value out of all South Carolina colleges and universities, by Forbes.