Does Neyland Stadium Actually Hold 102,455 People?...Maybe

#1
Boca Vol

Boca Vol

Originally from Exit 81
Lab Rat
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
28,478
Likes
27,609
#1
Being one of the crazier off-seasons (actually THE craziest) and having some extra time on my hands I was thinking of an interview or conversation I heard on SportsTalk (with John & Jimmy) where they were discussing with Coach Fulmer about he stadium renovations. One of the comments Jimmy made to Coach Fulmer was that many fans don't want to see capacity dip below 100K as that is a special thing to a lot of Vol fans (myself included). Fulmer said (and I'm paraphrasing) that 102,455 is just a number...making me think it wasn't necessarily accurate.

After Fulmer's comments, I decided to see how many seats are in Neyland Stadium. A couple of disclaimers:

1. All data was compiled using this link: https://map.3ddigitalvenue.com/tennessee-volunteers-football
2. I have no way of calculating how many fans the skyboxes can hold.
3. There may be other areas counted in the 102,455 figure that aren't on the map in addition to the skyboxes
4. Not all rows start with seat (1), so I tried to account for that
5. The WC areas in the N. Upper Level allow for 2 persons

Lower Level Capacity:
East Sideline (A-F): 11,912
S. Endzone (G-Q): 21,044
West Sideline (R-W): 10,476
N. Endzone (X1-Z15): 19,376

Total Lower Level: 62,808

Upper Level Capacity (Including Club & Terrace):
East Sideline (AA-FF): 4637
S. Endzone (GG-QQ): 16,746
West Sideline: 2260
N. Endzone (XX1-ZZ15): 9703

Total Upper Level: 33,346

Total Lower & Upper Level Capacity: 96,154

So it's quite possible that between the skyboxes, press box, and other areas in the stadium not factored in that Neyland can hold 102,455. Even if that's "just a number" I have no doubt the capacity is above 100K.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vol49er, nesbuddha66, Neyland Law Vol and 3 others
#4
#4
There are certainly fewer than 100k seats, but my understanding is that schools count concession employees/security/coaching staffs/ushers (anyone physically in the stadium, possibly including players) as part of their attendance figure. I agree with you as there's no doubt in my mind either that there are 100k+ people in the stadium when, for example, a Top 10 Tennessee plays a Top 10 SEC opponent.

Yesterday, @dobre_shunka shared a very interesting article (Tennessee football: Actual attendance shows dip in 2019 for UT Vols) which discusses the true attendance seen at games last year. I'm floored by the ~12k discrepancy between announced attendance and fans in seats, since I can't believe there are that many free "spectators" in the stadium and accordingly suppose that the delta implies either a general fudging of numbers or counting every sold ticket as someone in attendance, but ultimately believe the accuracy of the public records request.
 
  • Like
Reactions: maotai, VolByLaw, 08Vol and 1 other person
#5
#5
Boca Vol said:
Being one of the crazier off-seasons (actually THE craziest) and having some extra time on my hands I was thinking of an interview or conversation I heard on SportsTalk (with John & Jimmy) where they were discussing with Coach Fulmer about he stadium renovations. One of the comments Jimmy made to Coach Fulmer was that many fans don't want to see capacity dip below 100K as that is a special thing to a lot of Vol fans (myself included). Fulmer said (and I'm paraphrasing) that 102,455 is just a number...making me think it wasn't necessarily accurate.

After Fulmer's comments, I decided to see how many seats are in Neyland Stadium. A couple of disclaimers:

1. All data was compiled using this link: https://map.3ddigitalvenue.com/tennessee-volunteers-football
2. I have no way of calculating how many fans the skyboxes can hold.
3. There may be other areas counted in the 102,455 figure that aren't on the map in addition to the skyboxes
4. Not all rows start with seat (1), so I tried to account for that
5. The WC areas in the N. Upper Level allow for 2 persons

Lower Level Capacity:
East Sideline (A-F): 11,912
S. Endzone (G-Q): 21,044
West Sideline (R-W): 10,476
N. Endzone (X1-Z15): 19,376

Total Lower Level: 62,808

Upper Level Capacity (Including Club & Terrace):
East Sideline (AA-FF): 4637
S. Endzone (GG-QQ): 16,746
West Sideline: 2260
N. Endzone (XX1-ZZ15): 9703

Total Upper Level: 33,346

Total Lower & Upper Level Capacity: 96,154

So it's quite possible that between the skyboxes, press box, and other areas in the stadium not factored in that Neyland can hold 102,455. Even if that's "just a number" I have no doubt the capacity is above 100K.
Click to expand...

Either way, it holds a damn big crowd!!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boca Vol
#6
#6
TrumpedUpVol said:
There are certainly fewer than 100k seats, but my understanding is that schools count concession employees/security/coaching staffs/ushers (anyone physically in the stadium, possibly including players) as part of their attendance figure. I agree with you as there's no doubt in my mind either that there are 100k+ people in the stadium when, for example, a Top 10 Tennessee plays a Top 10 SEC opponent.

Yesterday, @dobre_shunka shared a very interesting article (Tennessee football: Actual attendance shows dip in 2019 for UT Vols) which discusses the true attendance seen at games last year. I'm floored by the ~12k discrepancy between announced attendance and fans in seats, since I can't believe there are that many free "spectators" in the stadium and accordingly suppose that the delta implies either a general fudging of numbers or counting every sold ticket as someone in attendance, but ultimately believe the accuracy of the public records request.
Click to expand...

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing. Usually tickets distributed (not necessarily sold) is the number most teams (pro, college, etc) use for attendance.

Also, I've heard that regarding Neyland about ushers, players, etc. Factoring those in certainly gets you closer to 102,455.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RDU VOL#14 and TrumpedUpVol
#8
#8
Skyboxes have 16 seats per box.

I believe the difference in the announced attendance and actual attendance are no shows. Announced is tickets sold or otherwise distributed, actual attendance is number of tickets/passes scanned at the gate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boca Vol and TrumpedUpVol
#9
#9
Good post! I guess that explains how some games look full but the announced crowd is below 100k. To this day I'm still pissed off with what they did to the West upperdeck
 
  • Like
Reactions: volsfan199 and Boca Vol
#11
#11
dobre_shunka said:
Skyboxes have 16 seats per box.

I believe the difference in the announced attendance and actual attendance are no shows. Announced is tickets sold or otherwise distributed, actual attendance is number of tickets/passes scanned at the gate.
Click to expand...
Correct. And we can sell up to 102,455 tickets. When games are sold out, there are more than that in the stadium counting workers and others. Or at least that's how it was explained to me. I'm digging for more info now.
 
#14
#14
The Original Fade said:
Impossible. My research source was Wikipedia.......they are never wrong
Click to expand...

Wikipedia appears to be correct in this case; the NCAA's list was accurate as of 2018, but Ohio State's own website reports the Ohio Stadium seating capacity as 102,780. Though, oddly, they refer to themselves as #4 in terms of on-campus facility size so maybe they're throwing Kyle Field a bone.

Either way, numbers three through six are all very close and probably fluctuate frequently based on any ongoing renovation. In any event, regardless of the true number of seats in Neyland, I do hope that we retain enough to claim a capacity above 100k since that number is a fairly substantial benchmark.
 
  • Like
Reactions: krichunaka
#15
#15
But Fulmer, who paused the stadium renovation after taking over as athletic director nearly two years ago, acknowledged that stadium capacity is “not as big a deal as it used to be.” He added that Neyland Stadium doesn’t necessarily seat 100,000 fans today and said “everybody’s having the same issue” when it comes to filling seats.

“Truthfully, we’re not above 100,000 right now. We’re about 98,5(00) or 98,6(00) or something like that,” Fulmer said Tuesday during his appearance on “Sports Talk” on 99.1 The Sports Animal.

Fulmer discusses Neyland renovations, six-figure capacity
 
#16
#16
Brave Volunteer said:
Its an 85k stadium that manages to squeeze 102k people in it.
Click to expand...

And I always get the 350 lb guy sitting behind me. Joking aside, I am 6'4". I always apologize to the poor sap that has to sit in from of me as my knees are in their back and to the person behind me as I am blocking their view.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 08Vol
#17
#17
TrumpedUpVol said:
Wikipedia appears to be correct in this case; the NCAA's list was accurate as of 2018, but Ohio State's own website reports the Ohio Stadium seating capacity as 102,780. Though, oddly, they refer to themselves as #4 in terms of on-campus facility size so maybe they're throwing Kyle Field a bone.

Either way, numbers three through six are all very close and probably fluctuate frequently based on any ongoing renovation. In any event, regardless of the true number of seats in Neyland, I do hope that we retain enough to claim a capacity above 100k since that number is a fairly substantial benchmark.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but I think the OSU figure includes the tattoo parlor. I'm sticking with the NCAA number
 
  • Like
Reactions: TrumpedUpVol
#21
#21
Ask the Oklahoma fans who visited a few years back...

And yes...I've been to Norman, and will be going again this year. There are High School Stadiums in Texas that are close to Norman's size...
 
#22
#22
TAF said:
Ask the Oklahoma fans who visited a few years back...

And yes...I've been to Norman, and will be going again this year. There are High School Stadiums in Texas that are close to Norman's size...
Click to expand...

I'm not aware of any HS stadiums that hold 85K people. However, it looks like it is a cramped 85K.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 08Vol and TAF
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top