Neyland Stadium could be about to undergo another major change according to Danny White
The Vols’ home venue could be undergoing a facelift in the not-so-distant future.
It’s been a while since Neyland Stadium has undergone a major change as far as expansion. Yes, the capacity has shifted over the years for a number of reasons, but the structure itself has remained constant since Tennessee put the second deck in the south end zone in place before the 1996 season.
Now, it’s possible the stadium could be expanded even further to accommodate more Tennessee fans. Danny White put out a message on Twitter/X on Wednesday morning advising that the school is looking at possible expanding the northern end zone to deal with the demand of fans trying to gain access to games.
Danny White says the school is considering an expansion the north end zone at Neyland Stadium
White issued the following statement in his post:
“Vol Nation,
“With the Vanderbilt game now sold out, we are up to 27 consecutive sellouts in historic Neyland Stadium. This continues to showcase the incredible strength of the best fans in all of sports!
“Interest in the Vols continues to skyrocket with a current season ticket interest list of 26,972. We are actively exploring the viability of expanding the north end zone, which will allow us to welcome even more fans to Rocky Top.
“The congestion outside the west gates is still being addressed. We made adjustments throughout the year and have partnered with our campus partners to plan the removal of the Silverstein-Luper building, creating a much larger open space at the bottom of Peyton Manning Pass. We are also aware of the need to tackle the congestion issues in the upper south concourse and are working closely with engineers to find practical solutions.
“Thank you for continuing to make the Neyland Effect & we will keep working to enhance the experience for everyone! #GBO“
Neyland Stadium reached its primary structural form in 1996, when it added 10,642 seats with the addition of the upper deck in the south end zone. With a few tweaks along the way, it reached its max capacity in 2004 against Florida with a school-record attendance of 109,061.
Since then, the university has made gradual tweaks along the way, which has served to mostly reduce seating by small bits at a time. Creation of club level seats in 2006 and 2008 caused a reduction in about 4000 seats. Most recently, the addition of lower west club and north upper deck social area in 2022 cut the attendance by about 540 seats to put the stadium’s listed capacity by the school at 101,915.
Although White didn’t come out and say they were going to throw a third deck on top of the upper deck, it’s hard to envision much more significant expansion on the north end that would be substantial enough to mention the over 26,000 fans on the waiting list without a significant change. We’ll see if the Vols’ athletic director expands further on his vision before the end of the season.
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