KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved a nearly $90 million budget increase to pay for larger-than-expected costs for ongoing renovations to Neyland Stadium and Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee Athletics asked the board to approve an $88 million budget boost to pay for the renovations, saying it needed a $49 million increase for the Neyland Stadium Phase 1 renovations project and a $39 million increase for the Lindsey Nelson Stadium renovations project. The total prices of the projects are $95.8 million for Lindsey Nelson Stadium and $337 million for Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee Athletics said it consulted with the architects and construction managers. Based on their recommendations, it said the anticipated cost of both projects would exceed the originally approved budgets for each.
On Friday, the Board of Trustees approved the increases.
UT's Director of Athletics Danny White spoke during the meeting. He made the case for why the renovation projects were important, saying UT had seen a dramatic boost in fans and season ticket sales following the success of its football and baseball teams last season.
"We all know that Neyland Stadium, an iconic building, needs a lot of help, especially from a fan experience standpoint," White said. "The interest and excitement surrounding our plans for the new-look Lindsey Nelson Stadium have been overwhelming. After seeking additional input from Vol Nation through our fan surveys, it was apparent that we needed to think even bigger."
You can read more details on the renovations for both stadiums here.
On top of approving the new stadium budgets, the board approved UT's request to increase certain mandatory student fees for the first time since 2017 by $240 a year. UT said the facilities fee needed to be increased by $196 to address the higher cost of construction needs on campus. It also will increase the transportation fee by $44 yearly to address costs with a new transportation contract.
UT said the board voted in favor of no tuition increases for the fourth year in a row.
"I’m grateful that even as the cost of education continues to rise each year, we have been able to hold tuition steady for our students. The majority of our seniors have paid the same tuition amount every year since they started as first-year students four years ago,” said Chancellor Donde Plowman. “This would not be possible without our record enrollment and retention, as well as the continued support from Governor Bill Lee and our General Assembly.”