Shaded Seats at Clemson Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium, also known as “Death Valley,” is the long-time home of the Clemson Tigers, It’s known for deafening crowd noise and fun campus traditions. Given South Carolina’s hot and often humid climate, Tigers fans can use this guide along with the stadium’s seating chart to identify the shaded seats at Memorial Stadium.

Where are the seats in the shade and sun at Clemson Memorial Stadium?

As a general rule, the seats in the shade at Memorial Stadium are located:

• West End Zone: Shaded in the mid-afternoon and evening

And the seats in the sun at Memorial Stadium are located:

• Sidelines: Sunny in most sideline sections throughout the day
• East End Zone: Exposed to the sun until sunset

Tigers games at the Memorial Stadium usually kick off in the early-to-mid afternoon, as early as noon and as late as 8:00 PM. For specific details about shaded sections at different start times, please continue reading.

Clemson Memorial Stadium Orientation to the Sun

Memorial Stadium is situated in a slightly off-axis east-to-west orientation. This is a fairly unique layout for football stadiums and an unfortunate one for shade seekers. By noon, the sun is above the stands on the south side of the stadium. Over the course of the afternoon, it curves around and eventually sets behind the west end zone. This configuration means the west end zone is really the only area with reliable shade, and only later in the day.

The graphic below shows the approximate hour-by-hour position of the sun throughout the day on September 1st.

Click or tap to see a seating chart for the next event at Clemson Memorial Stadium

Seats in the Sun and Shade at Early Afternoon Clemson Memorial Stadium Games

Memorial Stadium features an alphabetic section naming system rather than a numeric one. Field-level sections are assigned a single letter. Slightly higher sections use a “U” prefix, and upper deck sections use a “TD” prefix.

Shade is in short supply when the Tigers kick off around noon. The exact amount of shade for an early afternoon game depends heavily on whether it’s the beginning of the college football season or late in the season. During the early weeks of the season, the sun shines high above and virtually every seat is sunny. Later in the season, the sun is lower in the sky and casts longer shadows, allowing some shade to reach the south (home) side of the stadium. The best hope for finding early-day shade is in one of the last rows of Sections UA-UJ on the sideline, or in the last rows of Sections V-Y behind the west end zone.

If you’re willing to splurge, club seats and luxury suites are covered, shaded, and offer indoor areas where you can escape the South Carolina heat. All rows in Westside Club Sections 101-114 are under cover and thus shaded, though a row farther back is a safer bet for shade, especially very early in the day.

The sunniest seats are on the north (away) sideline and on The Hill behind the east end zone. North side sections at all levels will be sun-soaked for most or all of an early-day game. Barring a cloudy day, Sections K-T, UK-UT, and TDK-TDT will all get blasted with sun, so bring your sun protection if you sit on this side of the field!

Seats in the Sun and Shade at Late Afternoon and Evening Clemson Memorial Stadium Games

When the Tigers kick off at 3:30 PM, shade at Memorial Stadium is concentrated behind the west end zone. For those willing to splurge, Westside Club Sections 101-114 are among the best spots for shade in the middle of the afternoon. At field level, most rows in Sections V-Y will start the game in the shade, and all seats will be shaded at some point during the game.

Both sidelines start a 3:30 PM game in the sun, but the shade line will cross the field from the west end zone to the east end zone. That means seats closer to the west end zone, like Sections J and T, will become shaded earliest, followed by Sections I and S, and so on. The seats in the sun the longest are those near the east end zone, such as Sections A and K. The Hill stays sunny the longest and only becomes shaded once the sun has completely dipped behind the stadium around sunset.

By mid-afternoon seats behind the west endzone are in the shade while both sidelines and The Hill are in the sun.
Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire

Ready to buy shaded seats at Clemson Memorial Stadium?

Use the individual game links or click or tap here to see the upcoming game list for Memorial Stadium.