By Hunter Reid

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Nestled under the gaze of Paris Mountain on one of the nation's most beautiful campuses, Furman University's Paladin Stadium has long been considered one of the most idyllic settings to watch college football.

When Furman's newest plans for Paladin Stadium are fully implemented and football returns, the attractiveness of the facility and overall atmosphere is set to climb another notch to match the championship caliber, on-the-field play of head coach Clay Hendrix's Paladins.

Over the past several months athletic department officials, led by director of athletics Jason Donnelly, have examined a wide array of options to improve the fan experience — everything from seating options, to customer service, to accessibility, to lighting, to revamped parking and tailgate plans, to aesthetics.  A myriad of possibilities have been considered, and several have already been implemented or are on the active work docket.

"Furman Football is known for its history, tradition, and strong fan base, and we are excited to continue building upon the success of our past and focusing on opportunities for our future," said Donnelly earlier this week. "Over the past year we have identified and begun executing plans for improvement as they pertain to facilities, environment, and game day experience in support of Furman Football. We are excited to share some of these enhancements and look forward to providing additional updates as we continue to invest in our football program."

Among the most profound changes in store for fans is a new seating arrangement in Sections 3 & 8 in the west stands. 

Offering the stadium's best vantage point beginning at the 50-yard line, Section 3 over the last decade featured chair-back seating that gave fans a step up from the aluminum seats utilized elsewhere, but limited leg room between the rows diminished overall quality and comfort.  Those issues have been addressed, and the result is more than doubling of leg room and accessibility and vastly improved sight lines for every seat.

The same plan was implemented in Section 8, which lies below Section 3 and shares the 50-yard line view as a center point, though with slightly wider rows.  The new configuration features more chair back seats, except the first three rows directly behind Furman's bench area.  The change makes for significant improvement in space for fans.

When examining possible changes to Paladin Stadium and potential improvements to the fan experience, what became clear is the facility's ample space and seating capacity provided the flexibility to build added comfort, accessibility, and value into new seating layouts without negatively impacting real inventory.

The new seating configuration gives Paladin Stadium a new outside capacity of 14,518, ranking it second in the Southern Conference behind only Chattanooga's city-owned Finley Stadium (20,412).

"The improvements to our stadium seating area are a great addition for our fans," said Dwight Covington,  Furman Director of Athletic Ticket Sales. "This is a fantastic start to our plan for enhancing the Furman game day experience inside the stadium."

In addition to the reconfigured seating in the west stands, the concrete facing that adorns every row in the east stands will now sport Furman purple, a move that will give the nearly 6,000-seat section a decidedly new pleasing view to the eye and in television broadcasts.

Many other upgrades are planned and will be detailed over the coming weeks.

Clay Hendrix, who over his career as a Furman player (1982-85), assistant coach (1988-06), and head coach (2017-present) has played a central role in a majority of the program's 14 Southern Conference Championships, is appreciative of the effort to enhance the facility's allure and atmosphere.

"We have one of the top college football stadiums in the country, and the ongoing effort and commitment these improvements demonstrate in helping keep Paladin Stadium and our program elite resonates in a big way with our players, alumni, and fans," said Hendrix.