Clemson releases pictures of new Tiger Walk outside Memorial Stadium

Clemson made several upgrades to Memorial Stadium this offseason, with one of those being construction of a new area for the Tiger Walk outside the stadium.

Clemson has released first-look photos of the newly completed Tiger Walk, as well as the redone Lot 5, which is a popular parking lot and tailgating spot where the tradition takes place.

As you can see, it is quite the upgrade from what Tiger Walk and Lot 5 previously looked like.

Here's a first look at the newly completed Tiger Walk and Lot 5 outside of Memorial Stadium!

Just a few more weeks until we're all back together cheering on the Tigers! pic.twitter.com/f2kGDu7NBN

— Clemson Athletics (@ClemsonTigers) August 12, 2023

The Tiger Walk is a tradition started by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney to get players and fans fired up before home games. Approximately two hours before the game, the team rides over together on buses from the team hotel, then walks approximately 100 yards from the buses into Memorial Stadium through a tunnel formed by Tigers fans.

Swinney previously spoke about the tradition and what it’s like to be a part of it.

“There’s just a sea of people and the cheerleaders are there, the band people are there. They lead the Tiger Walk,” Swinney said. “And it’s just awesome, because by the time you get off the bus, until you get in the locker room, if you can walk through that crowd, you get it. And you understand the importance of this game and how you play and how you prepare. And a lot of people are counting on you to go and put your best foot forward.”

Tiger Walk has been a really cool tradition under Swinney. It will be even better in 2023 after renovations this offseason.

Graham Neff details how Clemson decides when to upgrade facilities

While Clemson did some renovations this offseason, it is very careful about deciding when to do so.

Clemson Athletics Director Graham Neff joined Eric Mac Lain and Kelly Gramlich on the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast this summer and discussed how he determines when to upgrade facilities.

“It’s not easy. We have 21 sports now, including the two new ones of women’s lacrosse and gymnastics. And we want to compete in all of them,” Neff said. “We like football here, no doubt. And we have a lot of success and we’re going to continue to invest significantly there, as we have. Obviously, the results and the support has come with that. But we want to win championships in all of our sports – which is an easy thing to say, but what’s the action, what’s the priority to do so?”

Clemson currently has multiple projects it is working on with facilities across many different sports, including new sports gymnastics and lacrosse. The athletics department is also in the process of updating and adding on to Jervey Gym.

“We are spending $37 million right now, we’ll finish it this fall – on our brand new lacrosse and gymnastics and rowing complex. And admittedly, those are not revenue-generating sports. There’s a lot of interest in our community for gymnastics, as there was for lacrosse last year. So we’re going to generate revenue. They are not non-revenue sports. But from like a business perspective, it’s football and basketball and baseball. But a lot of our sports really, beyond that, aren’t. But it’s really important for student experience… from a competitive drive standpoint,” Neff said.