Top Golf Neyland

[LAVol1]

Most exciting thing to happen in Neyland since....2016.

 

[lukeneyland]

If you love current Neyland I really think you are going to hate the upcoming renovations. I guess I will be one of those annoying people who quote an "unnamed source in the program" but I have been told under good authority the current climate surrounding renovations is to decrease capacity to about 85k, rip out the bleachers and put in stadium seating similar to a NFL stadium. It is consistent with the overall trend in college sports of decreased attendance, will make the gameday experience much better (hence people in theory should pay more for tickets) and no one thinks we are going to be packing Neyland with >100k anytime in the near future. Fulmer was the biggest obstacle to this and insisted UT fans would revolt if Neyland ever dropped below 100k. But Fulmer is gone now. Don't kill the messenger on this one but Neyland is going to become smaller and more luxurious, I am almost certain of it.

I hope you are wrong. Talk about stealing Neyland’s soul. What would we have at that point

 

[TrumpedUpVol]

I hope you are wrong. Talk about stealing Neyland’s soul. What would we have at that point

Danny White's job needs to be figuring out how to improve the product on the field and get more people into seats; spending money on renovations that decrease attendance and raise prices seems like a great way to further tank enthusiasm regarding the program.

 

[Toujours Pret]

It's awful and it's been a problem ever since the 80s when they were in a capacity race with Michigan and the concourses have needed modernizing for 30 years. People get freaked out when you talk about reducing capacity, yet we haven't consistently sold out in years.

Of course excitement around the program has waned since my early 20's, but

It's awful and it's been a problem ever since the 80s when they were in a capacity race with Michigan and the concourses have needed modernizing for 30 years. People get freaked out when you talk about reducing capacity, yet we haven't consistently sold out in years.

Name of the game is making it a pleasant environment to watch a game in. At this point it's miserable, maybe it's because I'm not 25 anymore, but I'd rather go hang around during pregame and then go somewhere where I've not got to commit 15 minutes to getting up and taking a leak, and not have my seat neighbor's shoulder sweat on me.

 

[GAVol]

Name of the game is making it a pleasant environment to watch a game in. At this point it's miserable, maybe it's because I'm not 25 anymore, but I'd rather go hang around during pregame and then go somewhere where I've not got to commit 15 minutes to getting up and taking a leak, and not have my seat neighbor's shoulder sweat on me.

I really wonder sometimes how many people feel reverence for Neyland just because it's home and familiar vs. how many folks just haven't been to many places to see how much better things can be?

 

[Toujours Pret]

I really wonder sometimes how many people feel reverence for Neyland just because it's home and familiar vs. how many folks just haven't been to many places to see how much better things can be?

I'm not wild enough to think it'll ever be Madison Square Garden, but realistically as far as creature comforts and things I admire about a venue Neyland is somewhere inbetween the Ice Bears arena and my nephew's little league field.

You need to provide at least 2 of quality, convenience, and value. Neyland, other than being a famous and revered place doesn't bring any of those to the table. I don't drink beer because to piss I've got to have 23 people stand up to get to an aisle, then walk and wait. Concessions are poor compared to most MiLB parks.

They've taken the gate for granted for years and now it's coming to roost. I think 80k would be a reasonable number to provide the creature comforts I surrender by going live vs staying home or a bar.

 

[lukeneyland]

Danny White's job needs to be figuring out how to improve the product on the field and get more people into seats; spending money on renovations that decrease attendance and raise prices seems like a great way to further tank enthusiasm regarding the program.

Put a decent product out and we’ll show up in ridiculous numbers

 

[lukeneyland]

I really wonder sometimes how many people feel reverence for Neyland just because it's home and familiar vs. how many folks just haven't been to many places to see how much better things can be?

I guess I’m in the minority on this board but I prefer to stand unless there’s an elderly person behind me. Kinda alleviates the comfort aspect

 

[lukeneyland]

Danny White's job needs to be figuring out how to improve the product on the field and get more people into seats; spending money on renovations that decrease attendance and raise prices seems like a great way to further tank enthusiasm regarding the program.

Agree completely. Put a team out there that doesn’t make me want to hang myself and we’d draw as many fans as ever

 

[GAVol]

I guess I’m in the minority on this board but I prefer to stand unless there’s an elderly person behind me. Kinda alleviates the comfort aspect

It's definitely more comfortable to stand . . . which, to me, is an indication of the problem.

 

[TartanTurff]

Stanford took about 30,000 seats out of their old barn 20 years ago, which once hosted a super bowl, and they survived, the program continued to be competitive in the Pack 12 and they continued to have plenty of players drafted into the NFL.

The NASCAR tracks at Daytona and Charlotte pulled out 30,000 to 40,000 seats each and a skybox less than 5 years ago and the attendance and excitement of those races did not change. The seats had no buyers, so why continue to support seating that has no demand.

Tennessee actually took seats out of Thompson Boling several years ago to build the sky boxes on the north side of the arena, plans are in place to do the same thing on the south side, program ran fine until Pearl became truth challenged, but it improved the fan experience in those club seats and suites, eliminated thousands of seats that were harder to sell, except to Kentucky fans when the Cats were playing in Knoxville. Dickey's ego mandated that Thompson Boling seat more than Rupp, but form over substance is no way to go through life. Most fans prefer how it is over how it looks anyway, Wrigley and Fenway are monuments to that logic.

Neyland suffers from about 25,000 seats in the south end zone that are harder to sell, primarily as they are bad seats and offer no direct view of the JumboTron, rather than continue to support that seating, take it out, build some premium seating on that end much like what was constructed in the upper deck of the north end zone, build out an enclosed club along the lines of what you see on the east and west side. Rip out the bleachers to put in the chair back seating like what fans experience in Charlotte at at the Benz for the SEC championship game. Botton line is the Tennessee program can operate profitably with less seats attracting more fans, the demand for 100,000 seats year in and year out is not there, particularly if every game remains on television via the SEC Network and ESPN. Tennessee football will be just fine with 75,000 to 85,000 seats, most NFL teams do just fine with that capacity.

Fulmer and several super donors never figured out it was not 1998 anymore, and Regions Bank stock isn't $52.00 a share anymore, Margie Ison doesn't do the weather at 6:00 anymore, MTV doesn't show music videos anymore, Johnny Majors, Bobby Denton, John Ward, Bill Anderson and Pat Summitt now watch from the best seats imaginable and the sooner the program adjusts to the here and now, looking forward to be competitive rather than wishing and complaining it's not how it was in 1998 anymore, the better the program will be for the long haul.

100,000 seats is not a Tennessee tradition, we've had plenty of success with far fewer seats, when no games were on television, there were a handful of bowl games and no bowl champioship playoff.

 

[Boca Vol]

If you love current Neyland I really think you are going to hate the upcoming renovations. I guess I will be one of those annoying people who quote an "unnamed source in the program" but I have been told under good authority the current climate surrounding renovations is to decrease capacity to about 85k, rip out the bleachers and put in stadium seating similar to a NFL stadium. It is consistent with the overall trend in college sports of decreased attendance, will make the gameday experience much better (hence people in theory should pay more for tickets) and no one thinks we are going to be packing Neyland with >100k anytime in the near future. Fulmer was the biggest obstacle to this and insisted UT fans would revolt if Neyland ever dropped below 100k. But Fulmer is gone now. Don't kill the messenger on this one but Neyland is going to become smaller and more luxurious, I am almost certain of it.

To put seats into Neyland you would basically need to rebuild it. The rows are too narrow.

 

[lukeneyland]

Stanford took about 30,000 seats out of their old barn 20 years ago, which once hosted a super bowl, and they survived, the program continued to be competitive in the Pack 12 and they continued to have plenty of players drafted into the NFL.

The NASCAR tracks at Daytona and Charlotte pulled out 30,000 to 40,000 seats each and a skybox less than 5 years ago and the attendance and excitement of those races did not change. The seats had no buyers, so why continue to support seating that has no demand.

Tennessee actually took seats out of Thompson Boling several years ago to build the sky boxes on the north side of the arena, plans are in place to do the same thing on the south side, program ran fine until Pearl became truth challenged, but it improved the fan experience in those club seats and suites, eliminated thousands of seats that were harder to sell, except to Kentucky fans when the Cats were playing in Knoxville. Dickey's ego mandated that Thompson Boling seat more than Rupp, but form over substance is no way to go through life. Most fans prefer how it is over how it looks anyway, Wrigley and Fenway are monuments to that logic.

Neyland suffers from about 25,000 seats in the south end zone that are harder to sell, primarily as they are bad seats and offer no direct view of the JumboTron, rather than continue to support that seating, take it out, build some premium seating on that end much like what was constructed in the upper deck of the north end zone, build out an enclosed club along the lines of what you see on the east and west side. Rip out the bleachers to put in the chair back seating like what fans experience in Charlotte at at the Benz for the SEC championship game. Botton line is the Tennessee program can operate profitably with less seats attracting more fans, the demand for 100,000 seats year in and year out is not there, particularly if every game remains on television via the SEC Network and ESPN. Tennessee football will be just fine with 75,000 to 85,000 seats, most NFL teams do just fine with that capacity.

Fulmer and several super donors never figured out it was not 1998 anymore, and Regions Bank stock isn't $52.00 a share anymore, Margie Ison doesn't do the weather at 6:00 anymore, MTV doesn't show music videos anymore, Johnny Majors, Bobby Denton, John Ward, Bill Anderson and Pat Summitt now watch from the best seats imaginable and the sooner the program adjusts to the here and now, looking forward to be competitive rather than wishing and complaining it's not how it was in 1998 anymore, the better the program will be for the long haul.

100,000 seats is not a Tennessee tradition, we've had plenty of success with far fewer seats, when no games were on television, there were a handful of bowl games and no bowl champioship playoff.

That would ruin our home field advantage and a big part of what makes Neyland special. The atmosphere for 2015 OU and 2016 Florida was probably the coolest experience I’ve ever had. And that would be lost with your vision

 

[ALGator]

Top golf but Bottom football.

Underrated.

 

[volfaninky]

Bring on the renovations and 90k. Let’s make it ultra nice and makes the tickets more demandable and a bigger deal to attend

 

[VFLEatinFresh]

That would ruin our home field advantage and a big part of what makes Neyland special. The atmosphere for 2015 OU and 2016 Florida was probably the coolest experience I’ve ever had. And that would be lost with your vision

I'm not sure that it would. Yes, that Oklahoma game atmosphere was special, but we could still pull that off with 90K seats. I would happily pay more for a better seating experience. I rarely go anymore anyway.

 

[dobre_shunka]

If you love current Neyland I really think you are going to hate the upcoming renovations. I guess I will be one of those annoying people who quote an "unnamed source in the program" but I have been told under good authority the current climate surrounding renovations is to decrease capacity to about 85k, rip out the bleachers and put in stadium seating similar to a NFL stadium. It is consistent with the overall trend in college sports of decreased attendance, will make the gameday experience much better (hence people in theory should pay more for tickets) and no one thinks we are going to be packing Neyland with >100k anytime in the near future. Fulmer was the biggest obstacle to this and insisted UT fans would revolt if Neyland ever dropped below 100k. But Fulmer is gone now. Don't kill the messenger on this one but Neyland is going to become smaller and more luxurious, I am almost certain of it.

I dont have a source within the program but I'm not sure it's going to all that straightforward to replace bleachers with modern stadium seats. I suspect major structural modifications would be required to some sections to make that happen. The rise and run of the current seating areas (i.e. north endzone) with bleachers aren't the proper dimensions to allow seats (which will occupy even more space ) to just be swapped in.

 

[lukeneyland]

I'm not sure that it would. Yes, that Oklahoma game atmosphere was special, but we could still pull that off with 90K seats. I would happily pay more for a better seating experience. I rarely go anymore anyway.

I think it would for 3 reasons. 1: Less fans making noise means less noise, (not a groundbreaking thought I understand) 2: Less seats means prices will rise because of the decrease in supply. This will price out a lot of our working class and younger fans. It will price out the people who gladly stand and make ruckus for 3 hours. No offense to older Vols but they generally don’t bring the noise like other demographics. Combine less young fans with the sheer lack and numbers and we will definitely see a loss in volume. 3: I think having bleachers encourages people to stand and get involved. Replace those with chair backs and you will see the crowd gradually become more passive. I sympathize for older fans that have a hard time enduring the seating arrangements at Neyland. I’m 25 so I absolutely relish big night games at Neyland, getting a little drunk and getting behind the VOLS. It’s just a way of life for me. Hope they don’t take it away

 

[VFLCodyGBO]

I think it would for 3 reasons. 1: Less fans making noise means less noise, (not a groundbreaking thought I understand) 2: Less seats means prices will rise because of the decrease in supply. This will price out a lot of our working class and younger fans. It will price out the people who gladly stand and make ruckus for 3 hours. No offense to older Vols but they generally don’t bring the noise like other demographics. Combine less young fans with the sheer lack and numbers and we will definitely see a loss in volume. 3: I think having bleachers encourages people to stand and get involved. Replace those with chair backs and you will see the crowd gradually become more passive. I sympathize for older fans that have a hard time enduring the seating arrangements at Neyland. I’m 25 so I absolutely relish big night games at Neyland, getting a little drunk and getting behind the VOLS. It’s just a way of life for me. Hope they don’t take it away

They aren’t buying tickets anyway for the majority of games. 102,455 is a number seldom hit and is even more rarely actually attained in attendance numbers.

 

[Boca Vol]

They aren’t buying tickets anyway for the majority of games. 102,455 is a number seldom hit and is even more rarely actually attained in attendance numbers.

There aren't 102,455 seats in Neyland Stadium. That's a created number to represent a total sold out environment to include: (players, coaches, cheerleaders, ticket takers, ushers, concession workers, custodial workers, police, EMS, etc.). Not counting the skyboxes there are a little over 96,000 seats in Neyland.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

They aren’t buying tickets anyway for the majority of games. 102,455 is a number seldom hit and is even more rarely actually attained in attendance numbers.

Man, I remember when Neyland was sold out for every game. It was kind of like a pre-game ritual, hearing the announcement that the stadium was full, and that 102,455* were in attendance. It was normal.

Here's hoping we're headed back for those days again. I miss them.


EDIT: * or 104,000, or whatever it was back then. I seem to remember it being up around 104,000.

 

[Boca Vol]

Man, I remember when Neyland was sold out for every game. It was kind of like a pre-game ritual, hearing the announcement that the stadium was full, and that 102,455 were in attendance. It was normal.

Here's hoping we're headed back for those days again. I miss them.

Before the N. Endzone upper deck was enclosed in 1996 I remember SRO tickets for the S. Endzone upper deck.

 

[feathersax]

I’m guessing you’ve not been to TopGolf?



It ain’t a church, man. Many other college venues are doing it; Sanford for one.

Never knew that Fred played golf.

 

[kcvols1]

I hope you are wrong. Talk about stealing Neyland’s soul. What would we have at that point

More comfortable chairs?

We already lost the capacity war.

 

[VFLCodyGBO]

There aren't 102,455 seats in Neyland Stadium. That's a created number to represent a total sold out environment to include: (players, coaches, cheerleaders, ticket takers, ushers, concession workers, custodial workers, police, EMS, etc.). Not counting the skyboxes there are a little over 96,000 seats in Neyland.

Fair, but that paints an even more grim picture considering I haven’t seen a truly sold out game in a while (no seats left open). Comparing it to 04 Florida where it was standing room only.