Memorial Stadium , Clemson Frank Howard Field at Memorial Stadium , popularly known as Death Valley , is home to the Clemson University Tigers , a NCAA Division I - A football team , located in Clemson , South Carolina . Built in 1941 - 1942 , the stadium has been expanded throughout the years , with the most recent , the WestZone , began in 2004 . Prior to the completion of Bank of America Stadium , in Charlotte , it was used by the Carolina Panthers NFL team , in its inaugural 1995 season . The stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists , including The Rolling Stones , Pink Floyd , U2 , and Rage Against the Machine , among others . Currently , the stadium is the second largest in the Atlantic Coast Conference . History . Construction . The stadium was constructed against the wishes of the late and former Clemson Head Coach Jess Neely . Just before leaving for Rice University after the 1939 season , he told Frank Howard , " Don ' t ever let them talk you into building a big stadium . Put about 10 , 000 seats behind the YMCA . That ' s all you ' ll ever need . " Despite this , the University decided it was time to build a stadium . They chose to build in the valley in the western part of campus . On April 3 , 1941 , the South Carolina General Assembly ratified an act authorizing a $ 150 , 000 bond issue for the new stadium , and the bill went to Governor Burnet R . Maybank for signature . The original 20 , 000 seat stadium was constructed for $ 125 , 000 or $ 6 . 25 a seat . The stadium was designed by Carl Lee of Charlotte , N . C . , a Clemson graduate , Class of 1908 , and Professor H . E . Glenn of the engineering faculty . On September 19 , 1942 , Memorial Stadium was opened with a 32 - 13 victory over Presbyterian College . Much of the early construction of the stadium was done by scholarship athletes . In fact , the first staking out of the stadium was done by A . N . Cameron and Hugh Webb , two members of the football team . In 1958 , 18 , 000 sideline seats were added and in 1960 , 5 , 658 west end zone seats were added in response to increasing attendance . The original cedar wood seating was replaced in 1972 by aluminum seats . As attendance continued to skyrocket , an upper deck was added to each side of the stadium . The south upper deck ( Top Deck South ) was added in 1978 and the north upper deck ( Top Deck North ) in 1983 . This put the total capacity over 80 , 000 , which made it one of the largest on campus stadiums in the United States . The most recent expansion started in 2004 and will continue through at least 2009 . The first phase of the " WestZone " project closed in the west endzone of Death Valley , added new luxury box and club seating , and completely renovated the locker rooms . The second phase , which was completed prior to the 2009 football season , brought all football offices and team meeting rooms to the WestZone from the McFadden Building and also added dedicated football training and strength conditioning facilities . The stadium ' s maximum capacity is 80 , 301 but has seated crowds as large as 86 , 092 . On January 14 , 2011 , Clemson announced a new $ 50 million athletic building plan . Facility improvements for football will include building an indoor practice facility and finishing the WestZone project . The indoor practice facility , which will be located where the current practice fields are , will feature a regulation - size artificial turf football field , a coach ’ s tower and video platforms . The building will have large garage - style doors , which can be raised to create an open - air space . The estimated cost of the project is $ 10 million . “ The indoor practice facility will be a highly significant addition for Clemson , not only for football but also for other sports to use , ” Phillips said . The $ 15 . 3 million WestZone project will feature the oculus , which is the main entrance to the WestZone , a four - level museum and an expansion of the northwest concourse . Construction on the northwest concourse expansion is slated to begin soon and will be completed by the start of the 2011 season . Scroll of Honor . A memorial to the 470 Clemson service personnel killed while on military duty was dedicated outside Gate 1 on April 22 , 2010 . A flypast of two T - 34B Mentor s concluded the ceremonies . Death Valley . The term " Death Valley " comes from the fact that the field is physically situated in a valley . But two additional facts also add to the mystique . First , the university cemetery sits on a hill that once overlooked the field before the upper decks were constructed . The other reference comes from the late Lonnie McMillian , the former football coach at Presbyterian College . He told sports writers in 1948 that he had " to take his team up to Clemson and play in death valley " where they rarely scored or gained a victory . The nickname stuck to an extent , but when Clemson Head Coach Frank Howard started calling it that in the 1950s , the nickname really caught on . The nickname was solidified when Frank Howard received what came to be known as " Howard ' s Rock " from an alumnus , S . C . Jones , who had picked it up in Death Valley , California . Death Valley facts . Clemson Top Single Game Attendance Figures < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Bowden Era Marked Traditions . " Howard ' s Rock " . In the early 1960s , the rock was given to then head coach Frank Howard by a friend , Samuel Columbus Jones ( Clemson Class of 1919 ) . It was presented to Howard by Jones , saying " Here ' s a rock from Death Valley , California , to Death Valley , South Carolina . " Howard didn ' t think anything else about the rock and it was used as a door stop in his office for several years . In September 1966 , while cleaning out his office , Howard noticed the rock and told IPTAY executive director Gene Willimon , " Take this rock and throw it over the fence or out in the ditch . . . do something with it , but get it out of my office . " Willimon had the rock placed on a pedestal at the top of the east endzone hill that the team ran down to enter the field for games . On September 24 , 1966 , the first time Clemson players ran by the rock , they beat conference rival Virginia , 40 - 35 . Howard , seizing on the motivational potential of " The Rock " , told his players , " Give me 110 % or keep your filthy hands off of my rock . " The team started rubbing the Rock for the first game of 1967 , which was a 23 - 6 waxing of ACC foe Wake Forest . In 1992 , students from the University of South Carolina broke into the stadium and tried to steal the rock . Although they were not successful in the attempt , the vandals did damage the exterior of Howard ' s Rock . It is now a tradition for the Clemson Army ROTC to " protect " the Rock for the 24 hours prior to the Clemson - South Carolina game when held in Death Valley . ROTC cadets keep a steady drum cadence around the rock prior to the game , which can be heard across the campus . " Running Down the Hill " . Probably the most highly publicized traditions of the Clemson Tigers football team is the entrance , which has been referred to as " The Most Exciting 25 seconds in College Football . " After exiting the stadium on the west side , the players load into 2 buses which , escorted by police officers , make their way around the stadium to the east side where The Hill is located . This scene is shown on the JumboTron inside the stadium . When the buses arrive at the east side the players get out and gather at the top of the hill and stand around Howard ' s Rock , once most of the players are out of the buses and ready to go a cannon sounds , the band begins to play Tiger Rag and the players make their way down the hill . The spelling out of C - L - E - M - S - O - N during this Tiger Rag is one of , if not the , loudest times it will be spelled out during the game . At the end of the 2008 season the Tigers have made the run down the hill 327 times .