Neyland Upgrades

[VFL-82-JP]

Nice post! I like your writing style.

Hey, thanks.

 

[DeerPark12]

I've heard that tale for decades and have a hard time believing it. Shields-Watkins field was donated as an all purpose athletic field and was used for baseball, field and track in addition to football. The university enrollment in the early 1920's was around 1000 and I think it unlikely someone had the foresight to see college athletics becoming what has and that a 100,000+ seat stadium would be built around that multi-purpose athletic field to the point it would block Ayres Hall.

And Ayres wasn't complete until the summer of 1921 while the students and faculty finished hand grading Shields-Watkins three months earlier in March 1921. So while Ayres was certainly visible and an anticipated addition to the university, I don't think anyone had the attatchment to the building yet to require it be visible from what then was essentially an intramural sports field.

The actual story for that is not the visibility of Ayers Hall. That is a common misconception because General Neyland told his players to “run to the checkerboards,” referring to the decoration in the brick on the tower of Ayers.

The original donors of the land stipulated that one end should always be open so that fans that could not afford tickets would still be able to view games from the hill. Their reasoning being that the athletic teams at the University belong to the state and its residents, so they should always be able to view them in one form or fashion.

The University lawyers found workarounds for that when the first bleachers were installed on the north side, then when the lower deck was built on that end in 1980. They pretty much just abandoned it when they built the upper deck in 1996. I don’t think anyone from the families was still around to file a lawsuit or anything like that.

The video board could not be put on top of the existing structure because there is not sufficient space to be able to dig the supports deep enough to support the board. If you notice on the existing video board, it is braced to the stadium, but the actual supports are dug deep into the ground outside of the stadium structure. They simply can’t go deep enough on the north end because of the way the hill is and the soil beneath it. It’s why it has taken this long for there to be a video board installed on that end.

To answer a question from earlier in the thread, the new board is slightly smaller than the original, just so it would fit in the space needed.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

The actual story for that is not the visibility of Ayers Hall. That is a common misconception because General Neyland told his players to “run to the checkerboards,” referring to the decoration in the brick on the tower of Ayers.

The original donors of the land stipulated that one end should always be open so that fans that could not afford tickets would still be able to view games from the hill. Their reasoning being that the athletic teams at the University belong to the state and its residents, so they should always be able to view them in one form or fashion.

The University lawyers found workarounds for that when the first bleachers were installed on the north side, then when the lower deck was built on that end in 1980. They pretty much just abandoned it when they built the upper deck in 1996. I don’t think anyone from the families was still around to file a lawsuit or anything like that.

The video board could not be put on top of the existing structure because there is not sufficient space to be able to dig the supports deep enough to support the board. If you notice on the existing video board, it is braced to the stadium, but the actual supports are dug deep into the ground outside of the stadium structure. They simply can’t go deep enough on the north end because of the way the hill is and the soil beneath it. It’s why it has taken this long for there to be a video board installed on that end.

To answer a question from earlier in the thread, the new board is slightly smaller than the original, just so it would fit in the space needed.

Good to hear from you.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I wish we could completely cover up the messy "erector set" scaffolding on the outside. It just screams late 60's/early 70's architecture. Plus, the addition of the brick facade only at the front of the stadium makes it look weird and unfinished. Like they started to cover the whole thing and they somehow ran out of bricks. I hope there's a long term plan to finish the job and enclose Neyland completely.

 

[WallyBalls]

Anyone know if I will see any upgrades around my seats ? - X2. Row 37

Decided to purchase a pair after a 12 yr hiatus.

That area (at least the lower concourse), had some renovations a few years back. Nothing done in the seating area.

 

[Volador]

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Thanks for the pic of Glocker Country Club. Got me a diplowma their!

 

[Pump Guy]

I wish we could completely cover up the messy "erector set" scaffolding on the outside. It just screams late 60's/early 70's architecture. Plus, the addition of the brick facade only at the front of the stadium makes it look weird and unfinished. Like they started to cover the whole thing and they somehow ran out of bricks. I hope there's a long term plan to finish the job and enclose Neyland completely.

I understand your point and this is not a debate, just a matter of opinion, but I like the way it looks. It probably dates back to when I was a kid, but looking at all that "erector set" always made be feel that I was walking into a massive structure. My sense of awe started outside of Neyland Stadium and then culminated walking out into the seating areas.

Of course my vision is heavily tinted orange, but I just did not get the sense of a massive structure when visiting the Rose Bowl or Michigan's stadium.

 

[ksgovols]

Structural engineers like exposed structures!

Mercedes-Benz has exposed structure as do most. The cool thing about Neyland is the facade can change with the times.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I understand your point and this is not a debate, just a matter of opinion, but I like the way it looks. It probably dates back to when I was a kid, but looking at all that "erector set" always made be feel that I was walking into a massive structure. My sense of awe started outside of Neyland Stadium and then culminated walking out into the seating areas.

Of course my vision is heavily tinted orange, but I just did not get the sense of a massive structure when visiting the Rose Bowl or Michigan's stadium.

It just makes me think of Atlanta Fulton Co stadium.

 

[solivols]

Structural engineers like exposed structures!

Mercedes-Benz has exposed structure as do most. The cool thing about Neyland is the facade can change with the times.

At least throw a coat of paint on the scaffolding to cover the rust. Also I don’t know what color would be better, but I’m personally not a fan of the off white/beige/mustard press boxes.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Also I don’t know what color would be better, but I’m personally not a fan of the off white/beige/mustard press boxes.

Agreed. I said the same thing. Paint them white or smokey grey or something.

 

[vettefool]

For those fans that aren't geriatric, a little history lesson. Before it was Neyland Stadium, it was Shield's Watkins Field (and still is - that is the field part). The donors of the land and namesakes to the field put a caveat in there that the "Hill", must always be visible from the field. There was some controversy when they closed the north endzone. Even more when the upper deck went in.

I have heard (on the Doug Mathews show), that if they put the jumbotron above the upper deck in the North endzone - it would block the view of Ayer's hall from the pressbox and those seats that are high enough up to see the Hill. This had much to do with the decision to put the jumbotron where it is.

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I’m sure the band members would love to be in those uniforms now. At least for the early season games.

 

[ksgovols]

Not a fan of the biege/off white either. The more modern stadium designs these days usually try to harken back to the older stadiums. Is the Astrodome still around? lol. Manipulating the facade every so often while maintaining General Neyland's original ideas to the degree modern building codes would allow would be preferable. The other structural issues they have in that area of Tennessee are karst conditions. I'm pretty sure there's sinkholes everywhere around that part of Knoxville and the geotechnical aspects for modifications have big dollar signs attached to them.