Gaffney High School Football Stadium, Cherokee County School District

This new football and lacrosse stadium for Cherokee County School District’s Gaffney High School replaces an aging community favorite with improved facilities that reflect the school’s past football traditions. The K-12 and Sports + Recreation Studios of McMillan Pazdan Smith designed the facility to take advantage of the natural bowl topography on the site, creating an 8,500-seat stadium with amenities such as press boxes, outdoor patio areas, and booster boxes available for lease to supporting community businesses. Our team designed a wider track for the specific purpose of accommodating the soccer pitch, allowing multiple sports to use the field. The beloved tradition of running from the locker room to the field through an entry tunnel was redirected but remains a symbolic element of the new stadium. The two-story brick and block press boxes blend contextually with the conservative Southern architecture of the existing school.