KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Athletics said Wednesday they were taking the first steps towards creating a new development project along the Tennessee River waterfront — the "Neyland Entertainment District."
The district would be anchored by a planned hotel adjacent to the stadium's south end. The initial plans for the project would improve the outside aesthetics of Neyland Stadium and "strengthen campus' connection with the Tennessee River." Plans for that include building the boutique, full-serve hotel that includes for-sale condos and conference space, according to UT.
They also planned to build a "tabletop" above the G10 parking garage for tailgating, restaurants, retail and family-friendly entertainment. That parking lot is located near Neyland Stadium, the College of Communication and Information building, and Thompson-Boling Arena.
"I think it's a great plan to utilize an underutilized asset for our area, which is the riverfront," said Helen Morton, the owner of University Liquors and a member of the Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association. "Naturally, it would bring more people into the area and maybe Cumberland could benefit from that."
A planned pedestrian bridge may connect South Knoxville to the University of Tennessee campus near there, stretching over the Tennessee River. The city applied for a $25 million federal grant to fund the project.
Tennessee Athletics also said that Neyland Stadium would be the centerpiece of the entertainment district, and said that the idea for building an entertainment district was spurred by UT's 17% growth in enrollment over the last five years and its $1.7 billion state economic impact.
"I think it's a great idea," said Sharon Pryse, who served on the university's board of trustees for several years. "The more that we can do with public-private partnerships to find the capital and have a great visitor student experience will be terrific."
They also said Knoxville was one of the top-five booking markets in the first half of 2022, alongside Atlanta, Nashville, New York City and Washington D.C.
Tennessee Athletics said they issued a formal Request for Information to gauge interest from developers. It would be built through a "public-private partnership," according to Tennessee Athletics. The request is meant to help Tennessee Athletics understand the feasibility and gather information about the project's viability.
"This project would transform the overall gameday experience for all of Vol Nation while providing a unique experience year-round for the Knoxville community. One of the goals of the institution is to be more engaged with the waterfront," they said in a press release.
They also said they "engaged program management firm Brailsford and Dunlavey" to guide the project through its exploratory phase. They said similar concepts built through public-private partnerships include The Battery in Atlanta and Gallagher Way in Chicago.
They said the Request for Information will be available for four weeks, and after that time its results will inform Request for Proposal for interested parties to continue the design and construction of the entertainment district.