News items.

[fryeguy93]

(1) State approves the demolition of Stokely Center and apparently Gibbs Hall.

http://www.utk.edu/tntoday


To be built on the site is a Dormitory and cafeteria on the east side and 1000 spot parking garage and additional exterior football practice field on the center and west side.

Would seem to infer the apparently closing of Johnny Majors Drive which will not make some of the grumpy oldsters happy. May have to name another street after the man to make up for it.

I wonder if some of the garage will be held open for baseball parking or will it all be noncommuter

(2) One of my former favorite Vol ballers involved in apparently domestic incident.

http://www.govolsxtra.com

I recall Bubba struggled with depression and similar problems when younger. Sorry to read this

 

[DocVOLiday]

that's a lot of money, but all of that will be beneficial IMO. We need more parking. We need more (updated) dorms and dining places to compete with other schools (for both athletes and normal students). We also need more outdoor practice fields (lot of stress for the one we have).

I'd say it's definitely worth it in the long run

 

[RichRollin]

Renaming another street after majors is a must!

 

[fryeguy93]

that's a lot of money, but all of that will be beneficial IMO. We need more parking. We need more (updated) dorms and dining places to compete with other schools (for both athletes and normal students). We also need more outdoor practice fields (lot of stress for the one we have).

I'd say it's definitely worth it in the long run

According to WBIR, Gibbs Hall is already vacant. I did not know that at all. Where are the underclass athletes warehoused?

The Garage is coming first and will be ready by mid-2015. The new dorm (all single rooms with common sitting areas) is next and the new practice field is last.

With single rooms, the new dorm sounds like a true replacement for Gibbs with an eye toward athletes even if athlete only dorms are no longer allowed in NCAA. (I suspect a potential NCAA replacement organization may change that rule)

I would like to have seen that spot filled with a volleyball/indoor track facility. I did not know the Gibbs was going to be replaced at all and I had been looking at the campus plans pretty closely.

I suspect strongly that Tom Black Track's days are numbered. If they build the new indoor track facilty where they want at the warehouse site across railroad tracks, then it may be more feasible to move the outdoor track there as well. UT could really use the space where track currently sits-with the days of the dual track meets gone, that is a lot of underutilized space.

 

[Vols4us]

According to WBIR, Gibbs Hall is already vacant. I did not know that at all. Where are the underclass athletes warehoused?

The Garage is coming first and will be ready by mid-2015. The new dorm (all single rooms with common sitting areas) is next and the new practice field is last.

With single rooms, the new dorm sounds like a true replacement for Gibbs with an eye toward athletes even if athlete only dorms are no longer allowed in NCAA. (I suspect a potential NCAA replacement organization may change that rule)

I would like to have seen that spot filled with a volleyball/indoor track facility. I did not know the Gibbs was going to be replaced at all and I had been looking at the campus plans pretty closely.

I suspect strongly that Tom Black Track's days are numbered. If they build the new indoor track facilty where they want at the warehouse site across railroad tracks, then it may be more feasible to move the outdoor track there as well. UT could really use the space where track currently sits-with the days of the dual track meets gone, that is a lot of underutilized space.

Good post. Helped me understand the issues. Thanks.

 

[Burger]

(1) State approves the demolition of Stokely Center and apparently Gibbs Hall.

http://www.utk.edu/tntoday


To be built on the site is a Dormitory and cafeteria on the east side and 1000 spot parking garage and additional exterior football practice field on the center and west side.

Would seem to infer the apparently closing of Johnny Majors Drive which will not make some of the grumpy oldsters happy. May have to name another street after the man to make up for it.

I wonder if some of the garage will be held open for baseball parking or will it all be noncommuter

(2) One of my former favorite Vol ballers involved in apparently domestic incident.

http://www.govolsxtra.com

I recall Bubba struggled with depression and similar problems when younger. Sorry to read this

All Bubba needed was a hug!

 

[vol66]

According to WBIR, Gibbs Hall is already vacant. I did not know that at all. Where are the underclass athletes warehoused?

The Garage is coming first and will be ready by mid-2015. The new dorm (all single rooms with common sitting areas) is next and the new practice field is last.

With single rooms, the new dorm sounds like a true replacement for Gibbs with an eye toward athletes even if athlete only dorms are no longer allowed in NCAA. (I suspect a potential NCAA replacement organization may change that rule)

I would like to have seen that spot filled with a volleyball/indoor track facility. I did not know the Gibbs was going to be replaced at all and I had been looking at the campus plans pretty closely.

I suspect strongly that Tom Black Track's days are numbered. If they build the new indoor track facilty where they want at the warehouse site across railroad tracks, then it may be more feasible to move the outdoor track there as well. UT could really use the space where track currently sits-with the days of the dual track meets gone, that is a lot of underutilized space.

Me too.

 

[TechnoVol]

I suspect strongly that Tom Black Track's days are numbered. If they build the new indoor track facilty where they want at the warehouse site across railroad tracks, then it may be more feasible to move the outdoor track there as well. UT could really use the space where track currently sits-with the days of the dual track meets gone, that is a lot of underutilized space.

I'm not at all up-to-speed on college track programs but you mentioned the days of dual track meets are gone. How do our track teams compete? Only meets where several teams come together? How many of these do we compete in each season besides the NCAA meets?

 

[fryeguy93]

I'm not at all up-to-speed on college track programs but you mentioned the days of dual track meets are gone. How do our track teams compete? Only meets where several teams come together? How many of these do we compete in each season besides the NCAA meets?

The only scheduled meet that UT hosts in outdoor track is the old Dogwood Relays now called the SeaRay Relays in April. Before the national meets they may host small events to help people qualify for the national but that's it.

Even the Relay event is no where near the big deal it was prior.

The track does hosts high school and AAU stuff more than they host collegiate competitions. And since UT does not have an indoor facility, they don't even host an indoor meet.

I think last season, UT actually had a dual meet in UCLA which was a one-off event and the first dual meet in years.. the others were "mondo" type events like Penn Relays and in Stanford and a Big10/SEC challenge event.

It's kind of hard to justify so much acreage in the middle of campus being used so rarely and it's kind of hard to justify a sport with so few competitions.

 

[sport3500]

I will miss SAC and watching Ernie and Bernie.

 

[DeerPark12]

According to WBIR, Gibbs Hall is already vacant. I did not know that at all. Where are the underclass athletes warehoused?

The Garage is coming first and will be ready by mid-2015. The new dorm (all single rooms with common sitting areas) is next and the new practice field is last.

With single rooms, the new dorm sounds like a true replacement for Gibbs with an eye toward athletes even if athlete only dorms are no longer allowed in NCAA. (I suspect a potential NCAA replacement organization may change that rule)

I would like to have seen that spot filled with a volleyball/indoor track facility. I did not know the Gibbs was going to be replaced at all and I had been looking at the campus plans pretty closely.

I suspect strongly that Tom Black Track's days are numbered. If they build the new indoor track facilty where they want at the warehouse site across railroad tracks, then it may be more feasible to move the outdoor track there as well. UT could really use the space where track currently sits-with the days of the dual track meets gone, that is a lot of underutilized space.

Gibbs was closed, with the exception of the dining hall, at the end of spring semester. It was used for camp housing for UT sports camps this summer and housed the football team during training camp. It was badly outdated for athlete housing, among the worst in the country. It shot up the priority list under Hart's watch and was part of the athletic department support plan announced earlier this year.

All athletes that live on campus, underclassmen and upperclassmen, male and female, now live at Vol Hall behind the law school. It's big enough to do that while still keeping the number at under 50% athletes, making it NCAA legal.

Vol Hall is the same floorplan as the new dorm under construction on Andy Holt is being built with, four single rooms that share a bathroom and common area, rather than the current double-occupancy rooms. All future UT dorms, including the replacement for Gibbs, will be built using this model, as will the remodeled dorms at Presidential Court as they are taken off-line and gutted over the coming years.

The indoor track facility is currently a dead project. There is some thought about putting a bubble-type facility like Nutter Fieldhouse at UK up over the current intramural fields and making it a track complex with common locker rooms for indoor/outdoor track. Even that wouldn't be in the near future. There has not been any thought or discussion of moving or replacing the Tom Black Track. None.

The garage where Stokely sits will be on the baseball stadium side and is slated to be a commuter and staff garage, which will allow for baseball and basketball parking.

This garage is actually a replacement for the one that was supposed to be built on staff lot 9, across from Neyland. And use of the land for this purpose was another part of the athletics-academics agreement that I referenced earlier.

 

[fryeguy93]

Gibbs was closed, with the exception of the dining hall, at the end of spring semester. It was used for camp housing for UT sports camps this summer and housed the football team during training camp. It was badly outdated for athlete housing, among the worst in the country. It shot up the priority list under Hart's watch and was part of the athletic department support plan announced earlier this year.

All athletes that live on campus, underclassmen and upperclassmen, male and female, now live at Vol Hall behind the law school. It's big enough to do that while still keeping the number at under 50% athletes, making it NCAA legal.

Vol Hall is the same floorplan as the new dorm under construction on Andy Holt is being built with, four single rooms that share a bathroom and common area, rather than the current double-occupancy rooms. All future UT dorms, including the replacement for Gibbs, will be built using this model, as will the remodeled dorms at Presidential Court as they are taken off-line and gutted over the coming years.

The indoor track facility is currently a dead project. There is some thought about putting a bubble-type facility like Nutter Fieldhouse at UK up over the current intramural fields and making it a track complex with common locker rooms for indoor/outdoor track. Even that wouldn't be in the near future. There has not been any thought or discussion of moving or replacing the Tom Black Track. None.

The garage where Stokely sits will be on the baseball stadium side and is slated to be a commuter and staff garage, which will allow for baseball and basketball parking.

This garage is actually a replacement for the one that was supposed to be built on staff lot 9, across from Neyland. And use of the land for this purpose was another part of the athletics-academics agreement that I referenced earlier.

The Tom Black track discussion was just speculation. I had heard no such rumors. Long term thought would be new track facility with both indoor and outdoor side by side near the soccer facility. TBT is an awful lot of valuable space.

Vol Hall near the law school is interesting. That puts the young athletes in that hall close to the athletes who may live off campus in or near the fort. I'm sure supervision in this area is a bear to say the least.

Thrilled to hear the new garage is commuter/staff. I suspect the long term plan is to start closing some of the uglier surface lots like at Circle Park and next to A&A building. Parking will not be an excuse for baseball games (unless there's an Amway convention of course)

The gibbs Hall closing snuck up on me. I heard nothing about its closing and had not even noticed it was empty.

 

[RichRollin]

We need to fire our track coach. Oh...wrong thread.

 

[DeerPark12]

The Tom Black track discussion was just speculation. I had heard no such rumors. Long term thought would be new track facility with both indoor and outdoor side by side near the soccer facility. TBT is an awful lot of valuable space.

Vol Hall near the law school is interesting. That puts the young athletes in that hall close to the athletes who may live off campus in or near the fort. I'm sure supervision in this area is a bear to say the least.

Thrilled to hear the new garage is commuter/staff. I suspect the long term plan is to start closing some of the uglier surface lots like at Circle Park and next to A&A building. Parking will not be an excuse for baseball games (unless there's an Amway convention of course)

The gibbs Hall closing snuck up on me. I heard nothing about its closing and had not even noticed it was empty.

here's a rendering of what the project will look like when completed:

View looking at the current Gibbs site from Volunteer Blvd:

 

[DeerPark12]

And the original site plan before the garage was negotiated in:

 

[fryeguy93]

here's a rendering of what the project will look like when completed:

That's a very big garage. I bet one or both of the lots I mentioned are going to close with a garage that large nearby. Both are rather unsightly and could be replaced with greenspace.

 

[fryeguy93]

Another few thoughts,

(1) with a multilevel parking garage backing up to the football practice fields (as well as a new high rise dorm). The football coaches are not going to be happy with the loss of secrecy.

(2) There is one person with UT ties that would hate to see "their" street disappear. Johnny Majors is that guy. UT better be finding a high profile street needing a new name or the Pro-Majors brigade will be throwing a fit.

 

[TechnoVol]

And the original site plan before the garage was negotiated in:

Why would you need 3 practice fields? I can see offense and defense have their own until team sessions, but 3?

 

[fryeguy93]

Why would you need 3 practice fields? I can see offense and defense have their own until team sessions, but 3?

Rotate fields to protect the grass perhaps?

Also, I thought one of the fields would be artificial turf to get experience on that surface. Could be wrong.

Just thrilled the baseball field is no longer used in the summer! Woot!

 

[DeerPark12]

That's a very big garage. I bet one or both of the lots I mentioned are going to close with a garage that large nearby. Both are rather unsightly and could be replaced with greenspace.

They cannot close the lots you mentioned because of handicapped and other access issues, much like they had to leave parking on the Hill.

I was told today that the garage will be like the one on 11th, with staff, student and paid public parking.

Another few thoughts,

(1) with a multilevel parking garage backing up to the football practice fields (as well as a new high rise dorm). The football coaches are not going to be happy with the loss of secrecy.

(2) There is one person with UT ties that would hate to see "their" street disappear. Johnny Majors is that guy. UT better be finding a high profile street needing a new name or the Pro-Majors brigade will be throwing a fit.

The side of the garage facing the fields will have opaque shades blocking clear view of the fields. I have a feeling the upper floors facing the practice fields will be the areas where the players live.

There will still be a sliver of Majors Blvd. under both plans and the complex will retain the Majors Blvd. address.

Why would you need 3 practice fields? I can see offense and defense have their own until team sessions, but 3?

Most schools have 3-4 complete outdoor fields. Our outdoor footprint at 1.5 fields is currently the smallest in the conference. As Frye mentioned, it allows for less usage of all areas, meaning UT will not have to re-sod every year. They currently have to rotate where certain drills are run because of the wear on the turf.

 

[TechnoVol]

They cannot close the lots you mentioned because of handicapped and other access issues, much like they had to leave parking on the Hill.

I was told today that the garage will be like the one on 11th, with staff, student and paid public parking.



The side of the garage facing the fields will have opaque shades blocking clear view of the fields. I have a feeling the upper floors facing the practice fields will be the areas where the players live.

There will still be a sliver of Majors Blvd. under both plans and the complex will retain the Majors Blvd. address.



Most schools have 3-4 complete outdoor fields. Our outdoor footprint at 1.5 fields is currently the smallest in the conference. As Frye mentioned, it allows for less usage of all areas, meaning UT will not have to re-sod every year. They currently have to rotate where certain drills are run because of the wear on the turf.

Thanks for the explanations... much appreciated!

 

[fryeguy93]

They cannot close the lots you mentioned because of handicapped and other access issues, much like they had to leave parking on the Hill.

The side of the garage facing the fields will have opaque shades blocking clear view of the fields. I have a feeling the upper floors facing the practice fields will be the areas where the players live.

There will still be a sliver of Majors Blvd. under both plans and the complex will retain the Majors Blvd. address.

I suppose McClung Museum would like to keep that lot as well. That elevated lot about A&A and HSS used to be gravel and ugly. I know it's paved now but still not all that attractive.