By Will Vandervort / Photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics.

Welcome to “The Well” Clemson fans or officially, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

This will be Clemson basketball’s home for the 2015-’16 basketball season beginning in November. The University will also hold its commencement ceremonies at the Greenville arena beginning in August while Littlejohn Coliseum is under its $63.5 million construction project the school announced last month.

“A big part of our fan base is from here. It will be a much easier trip for a few people and hopefully we will get some new people to come out and experience Clemson basketball,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said.

They will have some good games to choose from. The Tigers will host South Carolina—who also has a large fan base in the Greenville/Spartanburg area—defending national champion Duke, an Elite Eight team in Louisville and the defending ACC Champions in Notre Dame.

Those games should definitely make Clemson basketball in Greenville more appealing to the casual fan, who normally might not travel the 45 minutes down Hwy 123 to watch a Clemson basketball game on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.

“It is what we are used to,” Brownell said. “Every year we have those types of teams. This is happens to be Duke, Louisville and Notre Dame. Last year it was Syracuse, North Carolina and all different kinds of teams.

“We are always going to have a great schedule. We are always going to play good teams. We had two big wins in our non-conference schedule against top 25 teams in Arkansas and LSU last year, and certainly the game against South Carolina will be exciting to play here in the Well. So there is no secret we are going to play a good schedule and certainly our league assures us of that.”

The biggest issue Clemson will have when it comes to attendance is finding a way to get the Clemson students to Greenville. The athletic department’s marketing team is starting to work on a plan that would be feasible in helping them make the 45-minute journey to the Well.

“I know our marketing people do a great job and I’m sure they will find some buses and do other things to make it easy for them,” Brownell said. “That’s the key. You have to make it as easy as you can for students because there are so many more things now for them to do than there used to be.

“I know our people will do a good job with that. I think if you come and have a good experience then you have a better chance of obtaining your interest.”

Those that come will get the full Clemson experience. The court will be painted orange and will have the school’s signature Tiger Paw logo, while the ribbons and the video board will be an “All-Clemson” theme.

“Our guys have been excited about it,” Brownell said. “We have a beautiful arena here at the Well. They have done an unbelievable job and I think there will be a unique fan experience. I know for us it is kind of nice sometimes to play in a different arena and have a different vibe and as long as we find a way to get our students up here and provide an exciting atmosphere, I think it is going to be an exciting place to play. Certainly we have enough good competition to come in here to provide what can be some really good basketball games.”

In other words, it will be a home atmosphere for the Tigers.

“They have done a really good job. I think the video board and the ribbon boards around the arena are spectacular and really updated,” Brownell said. “They’re some of the things we are going to have to do to Littlejohn Coliseum. The floor is going to be painted orange so we will be able to do something that way. The locker room is first class. This is really a nice facility. I think it is going to be special for us and our fans.

“If we start to win and play some really good basketball, then this place can be really special.”