$58 Million Lindsey Nelson Stadium Renovation Details

#29
#29
UT seating capacity - 4,200
Vandy seating cap. - 3,700

VU smaller number didn't keep them from winning two Nattys.

Agree. Honestly, their stadium and amenities are terrible. Their indoor facility, locker room and all that are great from what I have seen...which is what the players care about. But, the fan experience is not good there in my opinion. Parking options are awful, one concession area and one restroom which are actually part of the football stadium. Not much they can do given the space they have to work with...but it is awful.
 
#30
#30
They would like to close the road running behind the outfield and create a better porch experience and a separate place to put students (drinking) along the outfield wall in bleachers

Well, this may seem silly, but where will they park. Close the road, but beyond that is the rail road and UT doesn’t own it.

The folks that buy tix for that experience get one pass to park.

Get rid of that, how do you make the porch doable, now that anyone can buy beer?

I have been a proponent of The Porch. Make it a permanent fixture, but doing so means , there is no where to go.
 
#31
#31
Well, this may seem silly, but where will they park. Close the road, but beyond that is the rail road and UT doesn’t own it.

The folks that buy tix for that experience get one pass to park.

Get rid of that, how do you make the porch doable, now that anyone can buy beer?

I have been a proponent of The Porch. Make it a permanent fixture, but doing so means , there is no where to go.

by closing the street you would create a lot more space for parking too. The street is fairly wide.

part of the porch experience is being able to mingle with a group, grill and have an adult beverage. My experience with the porch is 80% social and 20% game watching for most.
 
#33
#33
I believe one of the options that actually makes sense is the removal of the upper deck and redoing it .
This would allow the creation of open concourses with concessions facing the filed like is commonplace in new stadiums.
A smaller upper deck with suites and possible loge seating and a cantilevered roof would then run the length of the grandstands.
I would like to see the roadway (Todd Helton) closed behind the outfield wall. I believe that is one of the streets that the city turned over to UT so closing that ROW should be easy for the school. This would allow some great grandstand seating for students and others but would likely allow the fences to be pushed back to more metal bat suitable distances.

Closing Pat Summit behind the grandstand would give more room as well for a larger plaza and deck/suites overhang.

I dreamed once of flipping the field (if Helton Drive is closed) and putting a new grandstand where center field is now and leaving part of the current grandstand as outfield seats that would be popular with fraternities and students. I would hope that new grandstand would look like a larger version of the Lee Stadium grandstands. The television and fan view of the stadium would be of campus instead of rail yard.
 
#34
#34
Start over. Relocate fraternity park to Terrace Ave./Caledonia Avenue area surface parking lots and clear fraternity area. Use portion of cleared land for new LNS. Continue to use old LNS until new stadium is ready. Either convert old LNS for softball or demo it.
 
#35
#35
Someone listened to Burke on Basilio
Well, it does look like a parking garage up front and when you look at it next to others in the SEC, you quickly realize what a liability it is in terms of atmosphere and recruiting. Take a look at Arky, Miss St, LSU, aTm and even Vandy. LNS can't begin to hold up to those venues. We all know what an arms race it is in SEC football, but it's just as intense in baseball if not more so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#36
#36
Start over. Relocate fraternity park to Terrace Ave./Caledonia Avenue area surface parking lots and clear fraternity area. Use portion of cleared land for new LNS. Continue to use old LNS until new stadium is ready. Either convert old LNS for softball or demo it.
That's not happening
 
#37
#37
I have followed the Vols baseball team for many years. I always see folks make negative comments about the stadium. Would some of the more enlightened care to explain the real and the perceived shortcomings of LNS? Thanks and I look forward to the discussion.

The facade, concourse, vending, bathrooms, etc... are outdated. I guess people, ya know with the dough, want luxury boxes and a pristine baseball palace. That’s one way and around the conference not only do they fill the seats but they use it to recruit against ya.

The other way to go is miserable. Make the whole experience as miserable as possible for the other team and fan base, put our college kids right behind their dugout, crappy dressing room the whole thing. Make the whole experience DREAD.

In other words, LSU at night, without the fancy ish.
 
#38
#38
The facade, concourse, vending, bathrooms, etc... are outdated. I guess people, ya know with the dough, want luxury boxes and a pristine baseball palace. That’s one way and around the conference not only do they fill the seats but they use it to recruit against ya.

The other way to go is miserable. Make the whole experience as miserable as possible for the other team and fan base, put our college kids right behind their dugout, crappy dressing room the whole thing. Make the whole experience DREAD.

In other words, LSU at night, without the fancy ish.

I mean it! I have been to LNS a bunch, it’s not bad it lacks one thing more than anything...a rowdy crowd. But they will come, they already are. You can spend millions and still not buy that.
 
#39
#39
Back when UT football program was pretty consistently top 10, it financed all the other sports. Lindsey Nelson could be completely and totally renovated if football ever gets back to being worth a damn.

Until then, we probably have to live with what we have. Let's let the rest of the season play out and the tournament and another season or 2 play out with some consistency, before we go paying the baseball coach over 1 million dollars and spending hundreds of millions on a new complex for a sport that doesn't generate revenue......

Now, if he gets and keeps UT baseball regularly competing at or nor the top of the conference, then yes no questions asked. At this point you at least get some revenue generated I imagine.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#42
#42
It needs to be 💯 demolished and built from scratch! It is a TERRIBLE design! Field level dugouts and elevated seating are cardinal sins for baseball park design! There is absolutely no excuse for them not improving the facade when it was renovated before, which showed complete oversight and lack of commitment from the administrations that did the renovation. Still can’t put lipstick on a pig though! Blows my mind how a university with a reputable architecture program doesn’t take it advantage of it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#43
#43
I mean it! I have been to LNS a bunch, it’s not bad it lacks one thing more than anything...a rowdy crowd. But they will come, they already are. You can spend millions and still not buy that.
This I agree with, its not a Double A park like some teams in the SEC have, but im not sure its as bad as some make it out to be. Now, im not sure if there is a place to put fancy suites and if thats an issue then a new stadium needs to be built. I also like the idea of taking out the patio are and adding bleachers, especially for a regional or super.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Volfan1000
#44
#44
Agree. Honestly, their stadium and amenities are terrible. Their indoor facility, locker room and all that are great from what I have seen...which is what the players care about. But, the fan experience is not good there in my opinion. Parking options are awful, one concession area and one restroom which are actually part of the football stadium. Not much they can do given the space they have to work with...but it is awful.
I have been to both and Vanderbilt is better and the amenities for the players are not even close.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CunningLinguist
#45
#45
I posted in this thread long ago there are 3 real options

(1) Tear down the upper deck. Extend lower level seating down the left field line. Then construct a new but shorter upper deck with the concessions facing the field below. Make the upper deck have fewer rows but a top tier of full suites and media booths at the top. Finally. Finally, A partial roof needs to be installed above to make it look like a baseball stadium
(2) Build whole new grandstands from scratch in center field and flip the field. Tear down the upper deck in the the current stadium and turn lower level seats into outfield seating. I think a stadium facing NNE would be more fan and hitter friendly anyway.
(3) Build a new stadium of about 5-7000 seats. The softball team deserve a larger facility and could acquire and convert LNS or build the new Grandstands at current location.

With a new AA stadium forthcoming- and the UT President owning/controlling it; we have the luxury of using it for a season or 2 during construction/renovation.
 
Last edited:
#46
#46
Back when UT football program was pretty consistently top 10, it financed all the other sports. Lindsey Nelson could be completely and totally renovated if football ever gets back to being worth a damn.

Until then, we probably have to live with what we have. Let's let the rest of the season play out and the tournament and another season or 2 play out with some consistency, before we go paying the baseball coach over 1 million dollars and spending hundreds of millions on a new complex for a sport that doesn't generate revenue......

Now, if he gets and keeps UT baseball regularly competing at or nor the top of the conference, then yes no questions asked. At this point you at least get some revenue generated I imagine.....

It’s not our choice. Vitello will either get paid and the facilities upgraded or we will be bottom 2 in the SEC when he leaves. Yeah it’s that simple. Hundred of millions is not what we are talking about, it’s like 30 million for what he wants.
 
#47
#47
It’s not our choice. Vitello will either get paid and the facilities upgraded or we will be bottom 2 in the SEC when he leaves. Yeah it’s that simple. Hundred of millions is not what we are talking about, it’s like 30 million for what he wants.
Can you shed a little light on what he actually wants done?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Volfan1000
#48
#48
Can you shed a little light on what he actually wants done?

Just what I have heard from players and their families is that the left field line where the picnic tables are could get a concourse with stadium seating and suites. Right field where the gravel parking lot is could get a modern indoor facility with a modern entrance.

I was at the games this weekend and the atmosphere was amazing. Winning is becoming the culture and without Covid crowd restrictions, I believe it would have been standing room only throughout the entire stadium. I just think it would be foolish not to bring LNS up to the standards of LSU, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Miss St, Bama, or at least get reasonably close. Recruiting is tough enough when all things are equal.
 
#49
#49
Just what I have heard from players and their families is that the left field line where the picnic tables are could get a concourse with stadium seating and suites. Right field where the gravel parking lot is could get a modern indoor facility with a modern entrance.

I was at the games this weekend and the atmosphere was amazing. Winning is becoming the culture and without Covid crowd restrictions, I believe it would have been standing room only throughout the entire stadium. I just think it would be foolish not to bring LNS up to the standards of LSU, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Miss St, Bama, or at least get reasonably close. Recruiting is tough enough when all things are equal.
That would be pretty cool. Thnx for the reply, I had seen it mentioned that he wanted stuff but hadnt really seen what. That also seems reasonable. I also agree about the COVID restrictions part, TN fans are starved for a winner, they will flock to LNS with what this team is doing, imo.
 

VN Store



Back
Top