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South Carolina Papa John's franchisee to deliver for Clemson fans

After promising to throw the "biggest pizza party ever" at Death Valley if the Clemson Tigers make this season's playoff, Clemson University and Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney announced they have recruited the Greenville-based Papa John's franchisee Perfect Delivery Inc to start preparing pizzas.

December 2, 2015

After promising to throw the "biggest pizza party ever" at Death Valley if the Clemson Tigers make this season's playoff, Clemson University and Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney announced they have recruited the Greenville-based Papa John's franchisee Perfect Delivery Inc. to start preparing pizzas. Owner Bo Knapp and his team will spend the next five days finalizing plans to feed thousands of Clemson fans at what's being called the "biggest pizza party ever," according to a company press release.

"Death Valley (Clemson's football stadium) seats 81,500 people, so this is no small undertaking," Knapp said. "But no one loves the Clemson Tigers more than we do, having been the stadium's official pizza provider for the last 23 years. We couldn't be more excited to take this on, and will pull out all the stops to make this an unforgettable experience for everyone involved!"

Knapp and his team have enlisted 10 of their Papa John's Pizza stores in Clemson, Seneca, Anderson, Easley and Greenville to open early on Dec. 6 to prepare pizzas for an anticipated crowd of 20,000 fans. Additional staff will be brought in to deliver the pies to Death Valley. Clemson has requested 60 percent meat and 40 percent cheese pizzas to make sure every fan gets the slice of their choice. Papa John's International headquarters is sending an 18-wheeler outfitted with ovens to cook pizzas on-site.

At a news conference Tuesday, Swinney told reporters he would host the pizza party to celebrate his team's winning season, no matter the outcome of Saturday's game. Fans are to gather at Death Valley at noon Sunday if the Tigers pull out their anticipated win against the University of North Carolina. If not, the party will begin at 3 p.m. Gates will open at 11 a.m. for the noon event and 2 p.m. for the 3 p.m. gathering.

"This promises to be a great day for the Clemson football team and fans alike, and we are just excited to be a part of it," Knapp said. "It's been a great season and we're looking forward to celebrating with a huge crowd on Sunday!"

Greenville-based Perfect Delivery Inc manages 19 Papa John's pizza outlets in the Upstate of South Carolina and western North Carolina.