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 Neyland
Stadium
Knoxville, TN
From the moment
you arrive within earshot of Neyland Stadium, you know you are in
Volunteer country. Sure it would be easy to ignore the game with the
beautiful Smoky Mountains in the distance and the calming flow of the
Tennessee River right beside the stadium, but then you snap out of it
as over 100,000 fans rise to their feet to cheer on the Volunteers.
Vols fans erupt at the site of the team emerging onto the field
through the band, always in the shape of the letter T, across the
trademark checkerboard orange and white end zone as they take their
place on the field of battle. Like most stadiums of enormous size,
Neyland Stadium was born of humble beginnings.
In
1919, W.S. Shields, a University of Tennessee trustee and President of
the local bank, provided the money for a new stadium for the football
program. Completed in 1921, the stadium was originally
known as Shields-Watkins Field after Shields and his wife Alice
Watkins. The Volunteers played their inaugural first game at the
stadium on September 24, 1921 against Emory and Henry. A far cry from
what the stadium can hold today, originally the stadium had a single
tier grandstand located on the west side of the field that could seat
3,200 fans. The first of 16 expansions of the stadium began in 1926
when a grandstand that could seat 3,600 was constructed. The same
year, famous Vols head coach Robert R. Neyland began his tenure as
head of the football program.
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Additional additions to the
stadium have continued over the years. In 1929, an additional 11,060
seats were added on the west side, 12,000 seats on the east side in
1938, and stands were constructed in the south endzone by the 1948
season bringing the capacity of the stadium to 46,390. Shields Watkins
Stadium was renamed Neyland Stadium in 1962, after the famous Vols
head coach. Also prior to that year, the first of the upper deck was
constructed on the west side boosting the capacity to over 50,000 and
also included a modern press box. Additional seating was added in the north endzone and upper deck before the 1966, ‘68, ‘72, and ’80 seasons
increasing the seating capacity at Neyland Stadium to 91,249. In 1987,
42 luxury suites were added to the stadium and an additional 78 were
added prior to the 2000 season. The last large addition to Neyland
Stadium was completed before the 1996 season when 10,642 seats were
added in the north upper deck bringing the capacity to 102,544.
Artificial turf was at the stadium from the 1968 season until 1993
when it was replaced with grass. Today, Neyland Stadium is one of the
most well known stadiums in the sport. It is one of the loudest
stadiums in football with two decks of seats enclosing the playing
field. Over
the years, the expansions have been worth it as Neyland Stadium was
voted as the Best College Football Stadium in a poll by The Sporting
News. The stadium and its fans are also a powerful recruiting
tool as Tennessee has produced some of the finest athletes in the NFL
today and the Volunteers plan to continue this trend long into the
future.
- Find Hotels near Neyland Stadium -
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VOLUNTEER TIDBITS |
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2007 SCHEDULE |
NEYLAND STADIUM
PICTURES |
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Famous Players:
Peyton Manning, Jamal
Lewis, Scott Wells
School Traditions: The Mascot, Smokey,
The Hill, Pride of the Southland Band
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HOTELS NEAR NEYLAND STADIUM |
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