Littlejohn Coliseum was first opened in 1968. It was named for James Corcoran Littlejohn, class of 1908, the school's first business manager, who was instrumental in many of the school's early building projects, including the building it replaced, Clemson Field House, and Memorial Stadium. He was an avid supporter of Clemson athletics. The Tigers played their home games in the coliseum, at times giving the ACC powers Duke and North Carolina close games. The record for attendance was 13,863 when Clemson won over first place Duke in overtime on January 9, 1980. Until the 1998 completion of the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, it was the largest arena in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson market. Littlejohn Coliseum has been the scene of 43 Clemson wins over ranked teams, including a victory over #1 Duke in 1980, a 75–65 victory over #1 North Carolina in 2001, and a 74–47 victory over #3 Duke in 2009. Both the men's and women's basketball teams have won roughly 75% of their games played in Littlejohn. In January 2010, it hosted ESPN's College Gameday for a game against Duke. Littlejohn Coliseum was renovated and reopened on January 5, 2003. The overall building square footage was increased from 95,000 to 167,500. The square footage for both the training room and weight room was increased eightfold, while the media facility was increased by 3.5 times. Over of curtain wall as well as a new 700-ton roof were added. Fan amenities were also renovated, as restrooms were tripled and concessions areas were doubled. The renovations included all new purple cushion seats with orange tiger paws and a new playing floor. The cost of the renovation – $31 million – was approximately ten times that of the original building cost. As well as sports, in its 50 year history, Littlejohn Coliseum has hosted many concerts by musical groups, including Allman Brothers Band in '71, Chicago, R.E.M. in '87, Def Leppard, Huey Lewis and the News, Fleetwood Mac, David Lee Roth, Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice in Chains in '92, 311 in '03, Fall Out Boy with Plain White T's and Young Wild Things Tour in '07, Evanescence on tour in 2012, and former Clemson football playerLee Brice in 15. It annually hosted FM 93.3 The Planet's "Birthday Bash." In 2011, Clemson announced a $50 million athletic building plan. As a part of this plan, Littlejohn Coliseum was renovated. An additional practice facility was built at the southwest corner of Littlejohn Coliseum. Cost for the project was estimated at $5 million. The renovation was completed with an opening ceremony on October 14, 2016. The construction project cost a total of $63.5 million. The renovated studio included the new Swann Pavilion, which includes a practice gym, team suites, a film room, weight room and lounges. The renovation also upgraded the stadium entrance, exterior, and added two new LED boards. To fit in the new facilities, the basketball floor was rotated 90 degrees, and the stadium capacity was reduced to 9,000 seats.
