What Tennessee fans can expect in the south end of Neyland Stadium in 2024
Monday following Tennessee’s Orange & White spring game it was back to work for construction crews in and around the south end zone where the $300 million-plus renovation is in high gear for Phase 1.
The two-year offseason renovation will give the south end more than a facelift. It will create a wider concourse, easier entry access along with new restrooms and concessions. Tennessee athletics director Danny White said while completion of the project won’t be done until August 2025, fans will see a major difference in things this fall.
“This upcoming season folks that walk through the south concourse know how tight it’s been,” White said. “We have this iconic building, but we have to update it. We know that and we are working on it quickly. This upcoming year there will be about three times the space there that they had last year.
“It won’t be finished but it will be usable space. It should speed up entry time getting into the stadium. The bottlenecks won’t be as bad and going to get a soda or use the restroom for folks on that side will be a lot easier. We will have pop up concession stands that will be temporary. There will be a lot of temporary measures but it will be a way better experience right away.”
White said the changes in the south end in 2024 will not just impact that area of the stadium. With better and easier access in and out thanks to the renovation of Gate 4 (pictured below), White said it should help with traffic flow in other areas and entry points of the stadium along with balancing out restroom and concession lines.
“It will impact the whole stadium because the more areas that we have that look the part and have the space it eases some of the stress and tension on some of the other parts of the stadium,” White said. “The west concourse is over utilized. It’s a great part of our stadium, the new south concourse will look and feel like the west in terms of space and ease of use.”
Neyland Stadium is obviously the focal point of construction on campus right now for Tennessee athletics, but come this summer Phase 2 of the rebuild of Lindsey Nelson Stadium will start. Things are moving forward for White’s concept of creating an entertainment district somewhat similar in concept to The Battery around Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.
“We are trying to keep up with the fanbase,” White said. “We have so many opportunities because of the generosity of our donors and the passion of the fanbase. When we come up with ‘can we do this? (questions), the answer is yes we can so lets go get after it. Obviously football and baseball going on. We have capital projects in softball and a bunch of other smaller projects. And I’m really excited about the entertainment district and working with the private sector on that project as well.”
“We are getting close to the point where we can start talking directly with developers going through the RFP (request for proposal) process. At some point here soon we will be selecting a partner and set about really transforming the whole waterfront not only at Neyland Stadium, but hopefully that entices others to jump on board. There’s just a huge opportunity here for Knoxville and the University of Tennessee to think differently about the Tennessee river in transformable ways.”
