KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Students and faculty are bracing for an influx of fans expected to show up for Morgan Wallen's weekend performances at Neyland Stadium. The East Tennessee native and country music singer will perform on Friday and Sunday. Each performance is expected to draw 80,000 fans, the university said.
The amount of people will affect parking and classes on Friday, and some students are frustrated.
“I think these events are really awesome and I understand why we do host these kinds of things," said Annie Altic, a senior. "But I do feel like it should be on a weekend, especially since it totally disrupts our entire day.”
All parking lots will close at 2 p.m. Friday and turn into permitted lots for concert-goers. Several buildings near the stadium will close down at 12:30 p.m. for security purposes.
Buildings will only be accessible with a VolCard after 1 p.m. The university is telling students to avoid areas near the stadium, as traffic will be severely congested. It's also asking students to park at the coliseum and take a shuttle to campus to mitigate traffic.
Altic said it's an inconvenient plan.
“Nobody is going to want to drive all the way out there, and then ride a shuttle back, and then ride a shuttle back to their car," Altic said. "Nobody’s going to want to do that. And that’s why classes are canceled.”
Altic said her professors canceled classes on Friday because of the expected traffic and parking issues. Gretchen Adkins, a sophomore, said her professors did the same. But even if they hadn't, she said she still wouldn't have attended.
"I still wouldn’t have come regardless, because I don't want to take that bus," she said. "I don't want to park at the coliseum. I really don’t think all of the students on campus are going to be able to park at the coliseum and take those buses."
WBIR asked UT for an interview regarding parking issues on campus. The university only replied with parking information that was published online. WBIR then asked for an official statement and did not hear back by the time this story was published.
For a comprehensive breakdown of parking and traffic notices on campus tomorrow, click here.