http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a5/UT_Volunteers_logo.svg/150px-UT_Volunteers_logo.svg.png
Tennessee Volunteers

College
2x Champion:
1951, 1998

opned 1921 and renovated 2000

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this stadium is a perfect example of expansion over and over and over and over

http://web.knoxnews.com/special/gameday/graphic.jpg

Probably the ugliest facade in the USA though besides Kyle Field.

It must of taken an age to cover the whole field

Before:
http://www.volnation.com/images/neylandlg.gif

Renovation:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/8931/neyland1.jpg
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1252/neyland2.jpg
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/8720/neyland3.jpg
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/1092/neyland4.jpg

pdf: http://fishtrap.sslpowered.com/vols/other/vasf/club-seats/08-NSupdate.pdf

^^ Its about time. All those additions made that stadium God ugly from the outside.

Yeah now it will only be the 3rd or 4th ugliest in the country

why is only half the stands covered?

That is a massive stadium and when is construction starting

I didn't know where to find this thread.

The roof on one end kinda makes it awkward.

I didn't know where to find this thread.

;)
+++ STADIUMS AND ARENAS QUICK LINKS: FIND A THREAD FAST +++
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=651017

Good proposal.
Anyhow, its already a beautiful stadium this, mainly thanks to its setting.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1217/655007227_281bdae959_b.jpg

Good proposal.
Anyhow, its already a beautiful stadium this, mainly thanks to its setting.


Only thanks to the setting. That stadium is a giant erector set.

Looks like you got the capacity wrong, Sercan & Goothrey. The News Sentinel article says 104,079. It must be the biggest football stadium in the US, correct?

Looks like you got the capacity wrong, Sercan & Goothrey. The News Sentinel article says 104,079. It must be the biggest football stadium in the US, correct?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_football_stadiums_by_capacity

Capacity:
102,037 - Largest football stadium in the South, third-largest college stadium in the country. Has undergone 17 additions/renovations since the West stands were built in 1921, seating 3200. Latest addition East Side club seat area completed in 2006.



http://www.utsports.com/facilities/neyland-stadium.html

why is only half the stands covered?

The endzone upper deck with the roof was built in the late 1990's. The sections the roof covers are all chair-backed, NFL style seats and at the time, were the only ones in the stadium outside of the press box. My guess is that they wanted to keep the wealthy alumni who were paying for those seats dry.

As for the reduction in capacity, the entire stadium is being renovated, not just the exterior. They are/have built several club seating area, which is reducing the capacity since you can fit a lot more butts on bleacher seats than you can the chair-backed seats. I believe the entire east side upper deck is being converted as part of the press box rehabilitation that Goothrey posted pics of.

Sources suggest the official capacity has been lowered to 100,011.

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/mattingly/2009/08/the_incredible_shrinking_stadi.html

This would suggest that Texas Memorial Stadium has surpassed Neyland for 4th place in the US among football stadiums.

Found this on google images:

http://new.cincyvols.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/20090309_neyland1e_t600.jpg

Sources suggest the official capacity has been lowered to 100,011.

How did they manage that?

Cut club seats into what had been bench seating.

I see.

Thanks to the ugly exterior, nobody will know it is under construction. It is so ugly, if it was a person only its mother could love it. Beautiful setting though, and a fine football tradition at Tennessee.

Sources suggest the official capacity has been lowered to 100,011.


And that would mean Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium would be the largest in the SEC in 2010!

Here's a cool website I found that shows more of the eventual look (beyond this current phase) of Neyland according to the Master Plan:

http://fishtrap.sslpowered.com/vols/phillipfulmer/neyland2/renderings.html

I'll be there next month when UCLA visits Neyland!

And that would mean Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium would be the largest in the SEC in 2010!

100,000+ Alabama football fans in one place, 5 last names between them...

By the way, the replaced the Jumbotron in the South End Zone for this season. It's not quite as big as the Godzillatron at Royal Stadium at the other UT, but still a monster.

http://gate21.net/wp-content/gallery/new-jumbotron-2009/jumbotron-6.jpg

http://media.govolsxtra.com/media/img/photos/2009/08/09/080909neyland_t607.jpg

100,000+ Alabama football fans in one place, 5 last names between them...



:lol:

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/wy_jackrabbit/4248591089/sizes/l/

^^^

Wow looking good

How come college stadiums are so much bigger than NFL stadiums?

How come college stadiums are so much bigger than NFL stadiums?

Prices are lower so they can fill more and colleges have long built stadiums to satisfy demand, while NFL owners have made it a point to build stadiums with capacity to below demand in hopes of increasing that demand and turning a larger profit in the long run.

+ most college stadiums have got benches while nfl stadiums have got wide (wider than standard FIFA football stadiums) seats.

^^True some college football stadiums are larger than NFL stadiums, but the NFL ones firstly would have been expensive to build (the team and the fan VIP facilties all very extensive) so natually the cost to maintain these types of stadiums would be quite high.

NFL is all about maximizing luxury revenues, so less seats/more suites at higher prices. College is about getting in the student body + alumni and gaining donations, so you have more balance. Don't be mistaken, some college seats require a nice donation to get a seat. Not cheap, but there are tens of thousands of cheaper seats. Still not exactly cheap though.

Prices are lower so they can fill more and colleges have long built stadiums to satisfy demand, while NFL owners have made it a point to build stadiums with capacity to below demand in hopes of increasing that demand and turning a larger profit in the long run.

I see.
has the NFL philosophy proven successfull?

I see.
has the NFL philosophy proven successfull?

Very, very successful, although it works along with revenue sharing and marketing tied to TV, merchandising and other media. It all works together, but the NFL's stadium model has been very good economically.

Sorry I'm abit confused:doh: why has Knoxville just a small city got such a huge stadium?

Sorry I'm abit confused:doh: why has Knoxville just a small city got such a huge stadium?

Because it has the University of Tennessee and their successful college football team, along with the rabid fan base that accompanies it.

Glad to see that a new facade has been added to the west entrance of Neyland Stadium. It's way better than the boring exterior which is all support beams. This is an opportunity to have more floorspace added to the stadium.

Why was this moved?

Upps my fault :)

BTW is it completed?

I see.
has the NFL philosophy proven successfull?

It's the most profitable sports league in the world, by a wide margin, so yes :)

Why they included F1 on this list? Dunno.

1)NFL $984.5 million
2)EPL $513 million
3)MLB $496 million
4)F1 $435 million
5)NBA $207 million

Not only is the NFL the most profitable, it's by far the richest and most valuable with the average team worth close to a billion dollars

Last time I checked, at least from a fan's point of view, sport wasn't about making money.

Last time I checked, at least from a fan's point of view, sport wasn't about making money.
Sadly, the owners' P.O.V. is often different, at least here...

So is this one completed?

Sadly, the owners' P.O.V. is often different, at least here...

The reason why a lot of football fans object so strongly to North American businessmen buying their clubs.

From across the pond, the NFL just comes across so corporate, even more so than the PL!

It's like the whole point of professional hand-egg (not mocking, just to distinguish), is solely to make money. Where's the passion for the sport, the passion for individual teams, the passion towards the real fans? These are indeed all complaints from 'everyday' football fans in this country but if they saw how American sports operate they honestly wouldn't believe it.

Or is that an unfair assessment?

The reason why a lot of football fans object so strongly to North American businessmen buying their clubs.

From across the pond, the NFL just comes across so corporate, even more so than the PL!

It's like the whole point of professional hand-egg (not mocking, just to distinguish), is solely to make money. Where's the passion for the sport, the passion for individual teams, the passion towards the real fans? These are indeed all complaints from 'everyday' football fans in this country but if they saw how American sports operate they honestly wouldn't believe it.

Or is that an unfair assessment?

It's very easy to lump all American sports together, but like any stereotype, it's a simplistic and narrow-minded view. With as many American sports/teams that exist, there are countless reasons why owners get into sport. While I agree the American leagues are very corporate (but really this is true of almost any league in the world), some owners get in it to make money, and others do it for the passion of the game. It's not all or nothing, one or the other, black and white.

For example, Randy Lerner is an American businessman, but not an NFL owner. Just a soccer fan. And he is a great owner. It's clear that Glazer and Hicks got into it just for the money and not the passion, and I understand that frustration. (Although I'm not sure what Utd. fans are complaining about, they have had some of the most success in the history of the club). And as Americans are a fiercely independent people, they are usually just as disenfranchised as English people when someone seems to be doing something only for money. So don't think for one second that what a couple American billionaires do to English clubs is seen as acceptable by American people.

But we shouldn't get an overly romantic view of sports teams either. They are, at their core, businesses first and foremost, and that fact should not go overlooked. So if an owner begins to treat the team like a business, one should not be surprised.

So, in short, 1. Both American and European sports exist to make money, they are businesses. And 2. They are entertainment, existing to be a diversion. But like anything, in a country with such a huge population and great diversity (racial, cultural, economic), some fans will be more passionate than others, some owners will be more passionate than others. But I honestly don't think the Hicks or Glazer 'models' are inherently 'American', they just happen to be citizens of this country.

So is this one completed?

The stadium is LONG "completed", but I'm not positive that the current renovation is complete.

Sporting activities are very popular in Lausanne, with water sports available on the nearby lake and mountaineering in the nearby mountains.:)

It's very easy to lump all American sports together, but like any stereotype, it's a simplistic and narrow-minded view. With as many American sports/teams that exist, there are countless reasons why owners get into sport. While I agree the American leagues are very corporate (but really this is true of almost any league in the world), some owners get in it to make money, and others do it for the passion of the game. It's not all or nothing, one or the other, black and white.

For example, Randy Lerner is an American businessman, but not an NFL owner. Just a soccer fan. And he is a great owner. It's clear that Glazer and Hicks got into it just for the money and not the passion, and I understand that frustration. (Although I'm not sure what Utd. fans are complaining about, they have had some of the most success in the history of the club). And as Americans are a fiercely independent people, they are usually just as disenfranchised as English people when someone seems to be doing something only for money. So don't think for one second that what a couple American billionaires do to English clubs is seen as acceptable by American people.

But we shouldn't get an overly romantic view of sports teams either. They are, at their core, businesses first and foremost, and that fact should not go overlooked. So if an owner begins to treat the team like a business, one should not be surprised.

So, in short, 1. Both American and European sports exist to make money, they are businesses. And 2. They are entertainment, existing to be a diversion. But like anything, in a country with such a huge population and great diversity (racial, cultural, economic), some fans will be more passionate than others, some owners will be more passionate than others. But I honestly don't think the Hicks or Glazer 'models' are inherently 'American', they just happen to be citizens of this country.

Interesting stuff.

Indeed Randy Lerner is admired for what he has done to Aston Villa and future stadium improvements are on the way soon.

The reason United fans are upset over the Glazers is because they pushed the debt they incurred buying the club, onto the club itself; leaving none of the risk with themselves. The club made profit of £40m but Ronaldo was sold for £80m so without that is was effectively a £40m loss.

This was a club which before the takeover had some of the best finances of a team in Europe so now with the club in something like £700m debt, coupled with rising ticket prices and the Glazer's apparent lack of interest with what happens on the pitch, the fans aren't happy.

Ticket prices seem to be a odd concept the the US - they can be fantastically high for certain teams, and incredibly low of others. Out of interest, what does it cost to watch an NFL game and do ordinary fans feel priced out in any of their markets?

Interesting stuff.

Indeed Randy Lerner is admired for what he has done to Aston Villa and future stadium improvements are on the way soon.

The reason United fans are upset over the Glazers is because they pushed the debt they incurred buying the club, onto the club itself; leaving none of the risk with themselves. The club made profit of £40m but Ronaldo was sold for £80m so without that is was effectively a £40m loss.

This was a club which before the takeover had some of the best finances of a team in Europe so now with the club in something like £700m debt, coupled with rising ticket prices and the Glazer's apparent lack of interest with what happens on the pitch, the fans aren't happy.

Ticket prices seem to be a odd concept the the US - they can be fantastically high for certain teams, and incredibly low of others. Out of interest, what does it cost to watch an NFL game and do ordinary fans feel priced out in any of their markets?

the average fan feels like they are overpriced so they watch the games on TV, The average income of a NFL season ticket holder is over $100,000/year according to what I've read.

It's not that the Glazers are just American businessmen. It's that they are morons. Anyone who fires Tony Dungy is.

the average fan feels like they are overpriced so they watch the games on TV, The average income of a NFL season ticket holder is over $100,000/year according to what I've read.

Quite correct. But what's interesting is that there are many, many extremely dedicated fans to a certain team that have never been to an NFL game. Go figure. I don't know how it is in Europe, but being a loyal fan and regularly going to games are not necessarily seen as being mutually inclusive.

I think a lot of that attitude stems from the fact that American sports are much more sterile. Don't get me wrong, the monetary investment in American sports is astronomical. But overall, American sports are more of a family atmosphere, and more of a diversion, something to do on the weekend, than life or death.

A perfect example of this is if you go to a baseball game, which is a very mellow-paced sport, you could ask 100 people what the score is, and 75 might have to look up at the scoreboard to double check. They are there because the weather is good, it's a good time to spend with the family, and baseball tickets in general are less expensive than basketball and NFL.

It's not good or bad, it's just different than Europe. Soccer is like oxygen over there, sports in America are more like going to see a movie. An expensive movie no doubt.

The stadium is LONG "completed", but I'm not positive that the current renovation is complete.

Yeah. The stadium opened in 1921, after all. Its renovation is being done in phases. There's two more to go after the one going on right now is completed.

Anyone know the operation costs of this stadium? Ticket prices and if the owners have debt down to the expansions or has it paid itself off?

Anyone know the operation costs of this stadium? Ticket prices and if the owners have debt down to the expansions or has it paid itself off?

This season, $360 for season tickets. I'm fairly positive you have to donate between $1000 to $5000 to the university to even have the right to purchase season tickets along the sidelines.

The owner is the University of Tennessee (a public university). This particular stadium has most likely paid for itself 50x over. The current renovations are possibly happening without any debt being incurred.

Using the lowest possible dollar amounts, 100,000 x $40/tix = $4 million a home game. That's $28 million for the season. (and that's a low # because many pay more per seat) I'm not counting parking income, concessions, merchandise, or the donations given in order to buy season tickets.

Even after operating expenses, UT makes loads of cash off of football home games.

the average fan feels like they are overpriced so they watch the games on TV, The average income of a NFL season ticket holder is over $100,000/year according to what I've read.

:nuts: I'd guess for a PL season ticket holder, the average would be £20-25,000 at a complete guess. This would be higher than ST holders watching lower leagues.

It's not that the Glazers are just American businessmen. It's that they are morons. Anyone who fires Tony Dungy is.

Speaking of which:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10237268.stm

:ohno:

Quite correct. But what's interesting is that there are many, many extremely dedicated fans to a certain team that have never been to an NFL game. Go figure. I don't know how it is in Europe, but being a loyal fan and regularly going to games are not necessarily seen as being mutually inclusive.

I think a lot of that attitude stems from the fact that American sports are much more sterile. Don't get me wrong, the monetary investment in American sports is astronomical. But overall, American sports are more of a family atmosphere, and more of a diversion, something to do on the weekend, than life or death.

A perfect example of this is if you go to a baseball game, which is a very mellow-paced sport, you could ask 100 people what the score is, and 75 might have to look up at the scoreboard to double check. They are there because the weather is good, it's a good time to spend with the family, and baseball tickets in general are less expensive than basketball and NFL.

It's not good or bad, it's just different than Europe. Soccer is like oxygen over there, sports in America are more like going to see a movie. An expensive movie no doubt.

Over here football is becoming too much of a family sport (according to some). The reason you go to the games is to support the team, whereas if you want the best view chances are you can watch on TV. The most loyal supporters will follow a team across Europe if they have to (for Champions League for example). If you watch on TV you are not considered a real fan really. We have the culture of travelling to away games whereas due mainly to the size of your country that isn't much of an option often. They are generally great days out, albeit for a different demographic completely than family at baseball!

http://www.utsports.com/view.gal?id=75632

http://www.stadiumtravelguide.com/college/images/knoxmain.jpg


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