KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Crews are undertaking a major project inside Neyland Stadium during the offseason that will give the century-old stadium a serious facelift.
"I can tell you Neyland is still going to be Neyland," said Jimmy Delaney, the Associate Athletics Director for Fan Experience and Sales. "It's still going to be loud. It's going to be electric. The 'T' is going to open the band, still going to play Rocky Top. We're still going to have a great time."
Renovations began in December to rework seating and add more visuals to the stadium, helping it stand out and add to the orange-filled bleachers. There will be a new North video board, along with the usual South video board. And under the new board, there will be an area similar to a sports bar.
Officials are calling it a 'social deck,' and are removing some sections to make room for the unique spot. There, people will be able to sit or stand, while also keeping an eye on the rest of the SEC with TVs in the new section.
There will also be new field-level areas, and premium chair-back seating added with a new lower west sideline club in the stadium that's similar to what is available at an NFL game.
He said that additions to Neyland Stadium won't change the excitement in the atmosphere on game days. However, he said more fans will have a chance to watch their favorite team more comfortably.
"We're going to be creating more opportunities to give fans in different demographics, in different experiences, what they want," said Delaney.
"All these things are just giving us more and more tools for the fans to have fun, so that makes me giddy," said Delaney. "How do we take it? How do we modernize it? How do we take it into the next century? And how to do we continue to make our fans first?"
