Clemson home games are worth millions of dollars to the town. But that also left it vulnerable when Covid swept through the season
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, on a wooded patch overlooking a manmade lake at the fringes of the Clemson University campus, the James F Martin Inn is the demure retreat where thought leaders check in for national conferences on education and distressed parents check out before bidding their freshman babes one last teary farewell. Along with its pastoral trails, on-site dining and adjoining golf course with bunkers shaped to echo the tiger’s paw logo of the university’s football team, the inn offers one more luxury that’s likely to be of interest to rabid football fans: a 20-minute ramble to Memorial Stadium.
They call the stadium Death Valley, a name that nods at the withering powers of 81,500 Clemson fans at full throat. Even more resonant is their impact on this upstate town with a permanent population of just over 16,000, which makes a jump from the 33rd-largest city in South Carolina during summer break to the state’s most populous on football Saturdays.
