Neyland no longer SEC's biggest

[ETV]

Agree completely. When you can stay home and catch every play at multiple angles, rewind, and pause the game at your leisure on a 50" HD and avoid traffic, why would you actually go to the game?

There's always the atmosphere of being there that a TV just can't replace.

And that if you're watching Tennessee play a great game and pull off one of the biggest upsets in the program's history, I'd rather look back years from that moment and say "I remember that game, I was there."

Just my .02

 

[TNnative]

Didn't UT's last renovation lower the capacity? I don't see the stadium getting any larger. It's really not that big of a deal.

If the figures I saw are correct, when A&M' renovations are done, they will seat all of 45 more people than Neyland.

And yes, between the handicap access, and the luxury sky boxes, we did lose seats. But before then, they added seats on the cheap by wedging people closer together than before. Hell if you are next to someone that is overweight. Personally think that is a big overlooked reason why attendance is trending down, and more folks prefer to watch it on TV.

 

[Boca Vol]

If the figures I saw are correct, when A&M' renovations are done, they will seat all of 45 more people than Neyland.

And yes, between the handicap access, and the luxury sky boxes, we did lose seats. But before then, they added seats on the cheap by wedging people closer together than before. Hell if you are next to someone that is overweight. Personally think that is a big overlooked reason why attendance is trending down, and more folks prefer to watch it on TV.

Doug Dickey was a pro at the "seating adjustment" method of increasing stadium capacity.

It wasn't that long ago that tickets were $20-30 for UT games. With the new norm of paying coaches $3 Mill per year the tickets have naturally gone up. It's flat out expensive to go to a game now.

 

[Boca Vol]

There's always the atmosphere of being there that a TV just can't replace.

And that if you're watching Tennessee play a great game and pull off one of the biggest upsets in the program's history, I'd rather look back years from that moment and say "I remember that game, I was there."

Just my .02

If your team is pulling off the biggest upsets in the programs history, at home, that means the program isn't very good at the moment.

If you're referring to the S. Carolina game from last year, it really won't go down in history as one of the most memorable games, IMO, and here's why. It's simply the state of the program now and it was S. Carolina (not exactly a historical powerhouse).

79 Notre Dame (It's Notre Dame), 82 Bama (It's 11 years, Bear Bryant and Bama), 85 Auburn (Bo Jackson), 89 UCLA (on the road), 91 ND (at Notre Dame), 98 UF, & 01 UF were all bigger games, IMO, because of who we beat and what the win meant at the time.

At the end of the day the S. Carolina win didn't really mean anything. The team didn't expand on it. They lost their next 4 games (albeit against some really good teams).

Once UT gets past this funk we're in, these years will not be looked back on with a lot of happiness. Most people will want to put them in a box in the attic and leave them there.

 

[JohnMarxism]

If your team is pulling off the biggest upsets in the programs history, at home, that means the program isn't very good at the moment.

If you're referring to the S. Carolina game from last year, it really won't go down in history as one of the most memorable games, IMO, and here's why. It's simply the state of the program now and it was S. Carolina (not exactly a historical powerhouse).

79 Notre Dame (It's Notre Dame), 82 Bama (It's 11 years, Bear Bryant and Bama), 85 Auburn (Bo Jackson), 89 UCLA (on the road), 91 ND (at Notre Dame), 98 UF, & 01 UF were all bigger games, IMO, because of who we beat and what the win meant at the time.

At the end of the day the S. Carolina win didn't really mean anything. The team didn't expand on it. They lost their next 4 games (albeit against some really good teams).

Once UT gets past this funk we're in, these years will not be looked back on with a lot of happiness. Most people will want to put them in a box in the attic and leave them there.

I don't agree completely with your opinion on the SC game. It did mean a great deal to UT and Butch Jones at the time(The same measure that you used earlier in your post). Yes, UT went on to lose their next several games to solid opponents. However, the energy that was in the stadium for over an hour after the final whistle was something for the history books. UT fans were getting a glimpse of what is just around the corner. Butch earned his first signature win, all while ruining USC's championship hopes.

 

[Boca Vol]

I don't agree completely with your opinion on the SC game. It did mean a great deal to UT and Butch Jones at the time(The same measure that you used earlier in your post). Yes, UT went on to lose their next several games to solid opponents. However, the energy that was in the stadium for over an hour after the final whistle was something for the history books. UT fans were getting a glimpse of what is just around the corner. Butch earned his first signature win, all while ruining USC's championship hopes.

I was there. It was nothing like 82 Bama or 98 UF...I was there as well.

I'm saying, 10 years from now the S. Carolina game won't have the same feeling as those other games.

 

[JohnMarxism]

I was there. It was nothing like 82 Bama or 98 UF...I was there as well.

I'm saying, 10 years from now the S. Carolina game won't have the same feeling as those other games.

Fair enough. I envy you for having attended those games.

 

[bradisbrad]

Do whatever it takes to fix WiFi and cellular service issues at the stadium. Spare no expense on this. This is 2014. It is completely unacceptable for an expensive phone that's practically tethered to our hands in this day and age to become a useless brick at any point within a half-mile radius of the stadium.

They do pretty much all they can in this respect. They wheel in signal boosters on game days, but that's about all they can conceivably do. Reception is fine around there when it's not Saturday and filled with 90k+, and it makes no sense to put another tower in for one day a week for a quarter of the year. I'm also a student, and I understand it being an issue pregame trying to coordinate meetings and such, but during the game it really shouldn't be an issue. Not enough people just watch the game while they're there, imo.

 

[dmac17]

There's still more renovations coming for Neyland as part of the Campaign for Comprehensive Excellence. Don't think it will affect capacity though.
Tennessee Fund | Neyland Stadium Master Plan

 

[UTVolCountry]

So they will have us beat by 50 seats or so...who gives a dookie. Neyland Stadium will always be Neyland Stadium. Whenever we start winning again, our stadium will be rockin' again like no other.