[Tuck4Bama]

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
— From “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell

For thousands of South Carolina football fans each fall, paradise is a parking lot — one located close to Williams-Brice Stadium.
This season, paradise comes at a price.

The Gamecock Club, USC’s booster organization, is charging members for football parking for the first time (between $75 and $595 per space depending on location, $875 for RVs). The priciest of some 7,400 club spaces are 750 premium spots in paved lots adjacent to the stadium.
Tack on increased costs for football tickets and club memberships, and it’s no surprise some members are unhappy.

“Suddenly, it seems like we’re being nickel-and-dimed, or $150-$200ed, to death,” said Jerry Gatch, band director at Lexington High School and a full scholarship donor for about 12 years.

The State | 08/30/2007 | Sticker shock won’t keep tailgaters from tailgating