Bowl Game at Neyland

#1
orangetitanfan

orangetitanfan

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#1
I wonder why Dolly and UT have never teamed up to host a Bowl game at Neyland? It could be called the Dollywood Bowl or maybe the Smoky Mountain Bowl. I think it would be a good opportunity to show off Neyland to people who have never seen it. Plus there’s plenty to do in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
 
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#2
#2
I’ve always heard it’s got something to do with the number of available hotel rooms in relation to Neyland. Like to qualify for a bowl, you need to have enough rooms in your city to account for the seats in your stadium.

Honestly though it doesn’t matter, bowl games get like what, 50-60K attendance? And that number will continue to dwindle as more and more players sit out. They don’t have to use one of the largest stadiums in the country to host a bowl.
 
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#6
#6
orangetitanfan said:
I wonder why Dolly and UT have never teamed up to host a Bowl game at Neyland? It could be called the Dollywood Bowl or maybe the Smoky Mountain Bowl. I think it would be a good opportunity to show off Neyland to people who have never seen it. Plus there’s plenty to do in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
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I've thought about it for awhile now, and the reality is Neyland is far too big to bother doing anything less than a big time bowl game in. That and it is outdoors in the middle of December or January, it just doesn't make sense. All the big time bowls are either inside or in warm weather states (Orange bowl, Rose Bowl, etc). So that leaves us with a not super desirable bowl game, with not a huge amount of attendance for a very large stadium. The economics of it just don't make sense for Neyland Stadium. Knoxville would be a great place for a bowl game personally, but not at Neyland.
 
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#7
#7
Has Neyland ever been used for a regular season neutral location matchup?
 
#11
#11
orangetitanfan said:
I wonder why Dolly and UT have never teamed up to host a Bowl game at Neyland? It could be called the Dollywood Bowl or maybe the Smoky Mountain Bowl. I think it would be a good opportunity to show off Neyland to people who have never seen it. Plus there’s plenty to do in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
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when you get down to it they will never compete with MCB, which is already a useless bowl game. Cancel half the bowls or make them mean something.
 
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#13
#13
knox-townVOL said:
I’ve always heard it’s got something to do with the number of available hotel rooms in relation to Neyland. Like to qualify for a bowl, you need to have enough rooms in your city to account for the seats in your stadium.
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I've heard this reasoning used as well. I'm assuming that it was accurate at some point in time or remains accurate, but Knoxville's hotel population has exploded over the last decade and there are seven hotels poised to open within the next four years alone that will add another 700+ rooms downtown. Whatever the threshold is, I'm positive that Knoxville now exceeds it.

DonDiego said:
Are bowls usually played in college stadiums? One doesn't come to mind and it would be weird having two foreign colleges play in Neyland
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It is weird, and I don't think there's much sense in the costs associated with having the 7th-ranked C-USA team play a middling MAC squad in December, but Boise State/Memphis/Coastal Carolina/UTEP/UAB/SMU/USF/TCU/I'm sure a few more all have bowl games in their stadiums. None of those programs are major, though, and quite a few of those stadiums are off-campus.
 
#14
#14
DonDiego said:
Are bowls usually played in college stadiums? One doesn't come to mind and it would be weird having two foreign colleges play in Neyland
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Only one I can think of is the Potato Bowl in Boise.

My initial response to this is who wants to go to Knoxville in December? Then I realized that Montgomery, Birmingham, Boise, Shreveport and Detroit have bowl games lol. Really it all just comes down to finding atiyle sponsor willing to shell out the cash. The location doesn't even matter like it once did.
 
#15
#15
GAVol said:
Only one I can think of is the Potato Bowl in Boise.

My initial response to this is who wants to go to Knoxville in December? Then I realized that Montgomery, Birmingham, Boise, Shreveport and Detroit have bowl games lol. Really it all just comes down to finding atiyle sponsor willing to shell out the cash. The location doesn't even matter like it once did.
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Rose Bowl
Cotton Bowl
Liberty Bowl
Birmingham Bowl
Myrtle Beach Bowl
 
#18
#18
rdk4121 said:
I've thought about it for awhile now, and the reality is Neyland is far too big to bother doing anything less than a big time bowl game in. That and it is outdoors in the middle of December or January, it just doesn't make sense. All the big time bowls are either inside or in warm weather states (Orange bowl, Rose Bowl, etc). So that leaves us with a not super desirable bowl game, with not a huge amount of attendance for a very large stadium. The economics of it just don't make sense for Neyland Stadium. Knoxville would be a great place for a bowl game personally, but not at Neyland.
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. The Music city bowl is outside in late December in Nashville when it can get really cold.
 
#19
#19
My take is that if you look around, outside of the playoff bowls, there isn't a game held in a stadium larger than about 75K.

Sponsors know that even great matchups are only bringing 60-80 thousand tickets, so why hold a game in a venue and have it shown on TV being 1/4 empty... doesn't look good.
 
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#21
#21
Volador said:
Tennessee River Bowl
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Now, see? This title provides the seed of imagination to make a Neyland bowl game a possibility. The problem as I see it is a total lack of imagination by the UT, the city of Knoxville, and the state businesses. Here's my WoodsmanVol insanity at work.

Problem 1: Not enough hotel suites to accommodate a truly big time crowd.
SOLUTION A: Run a mag-lev train shuttle service from connecting spokes in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Morristown, and Jefferson City to Knoxville, right up to the stadium or somewhere on the UT campus. Plus one express mag-lev direct from Nashville to Knoxville with reserve seating for ticket holding bowl attendees only on bowl day.
SOLUTION B: Purchase 3-4 paddle wheel riverboats to serve as hotel and dining facilities on game days (and bowl days). Each should have their own loading and off loading docks. Maybe even a riverboat from Chattanooga to Nashville to board the meg-lev there to Knoxville.

I know, I know, I'm totally off my rocker, my swing, and the spaceship headed for the moon.
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#22
#22
vols 30 said:
Anyone else go to the Steelers/Patriots preseason game at Neyland back in 1982?

I remember being mad because Terry Bradshaw didn't play. I didn't understand how it worked back then, lol
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I was there with my dad. I was only 9 so I didn't understand much about it at all but I also recall my dad and I being disappointed Bradshaw didn't play.
 
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#23
#23
sunnyvol79 said:
. The Music city bowl is outside in late December in Nashville when it can get really cold.
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Yes, not a major bowl, smaller stadium, and far bigger city. Nashville also seems to be also very slightly warmer on average, not that it matters that much. With major bowls I'm talking new year's six bowl, outback bowl, citrus Bowl, etc. Music city is a pretty decent bowl, but a slight step down. I'm not saying they don't have cold weather bowls, but it's going to be hard to fill a 100k stadium in the 40 degree weather with two middle of the road teams.
 
#25
#25
Face it, UT has a hard time filling it's own stadium regularly. So a bowl game wouldn't be a huge draw, IMO.

Most lower tier bowl games (which a bowl in Knoxville would be) only draw 10-20K fans. I usually go to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando each year and it usually has a good match-up. V-Tech vs. OK St, Syracuse vs. WVU, ND vs. Iowa St., Clemson vs. Iowa St....and you can sit pretty much anywhere you want.
 
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