University of Tennessee Athletics
Neyland Skybox Construction Heading Down Homestretch
July 18, 2000 | Football
| See Views From New Neyland Stadium Skybox Neyland Stadium grew silent when the game clock hit 00:00 against Vanderbilt last November. The Vols' riverfront stadium usually sits in peaceful slumber during the spring and summer with the lone exception being the Orange and White game. This offseason was different though. The foundation for the east side skyboxes was already in place as was part of the framework by the end of the season. The project hit full stride when the final gun sounded against Vanderbilt. Expected completion of the project is in late August, which will be just in time for the opening kickoff of the 2000 season. "I've been kidding the skybox holders that construction workers will be going down the elevator as they are coming up for the first game," said Mike Hamilton, associate athletic director for development and marketing. "But construction is going well, and we are working on the final details with the architects. We expect everything to be completed by Sept. 2." The exterior work on the skyboxes has been completed and the focus of the project now is getting the interior finished. Carpet still needs to be laid, seats have to be installed as well as all the other details. The challenge of this project has been to get it completed by September. "We have been under the gun to get finished ever since we started the project," said Bob Davis, associate athletic director for facilities. "We can't open a semester later like other projects on campus. We have to meet our deadlines. A lot of people have worked above and beyond to ensure this project gets completed on time." The project is adding 78 skyboxes at a cost of $18 million to Neyland Stadium and will push the official capacity to more than 104,000. There will be 121 leased skyboxes, which will give Tennessee the most of any college in the country. "The new skyboxes brought some new donors to the table and was a chance for some previous donors to increase their support of the University," Hamilton said. There will be 26 boxes on each of three levels of the structure with each skybox having 16 seats. There will also be an open commons area on each level. "There has been a lot of anticipation with the holders of the skyboxes," Hamilton said. "People are wanting to come by and look at them. The whole project has been great for them and for us." |
