University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE ADVANCES WHILE HOME ARENA RENOVATIONS START
March 22, 2007 | Men's Basketball
March 22, 2007
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - When the newly renovated Thompson-Boling Arena opens this fall on its 20th anniversary, Tennessee will be coming off one of its best seasons in school history.
It's the kind of perfect timing evident already in coach Bruce Pearl's first two seasons with the Vols.
Plans were in the works to update the arena before Pearl was hired, but those ideas took fruition faster thanks in part to the renewed success of the men's basketball program.
The Tennessee women's team has been drawing large crowds for many years and enjoying a big home-court advantage in the 24,535-seat arena - one of the largest on-campus arenas in the country. The court is named "The Summitt" in honor of women's coach Pat Summitt, the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history.
The $15 million project to add luxury suites, new seats and a scoreboard above the court began at the end of the regular season. The capacity will drop to around 21,000.
The men went 16-0 at home this year and averaged 19,661 in attendance for each game, the second-highest after the inaugural season in Thompson-Boling. The average attendance in 1987-88 was 20,823.
 Artist's rendering of the new Thompson-Bolina Arena |
Now, the Vols are in the regional semifinals for the first time since 2000 and have won 24 games, the second-most in school history.
"The timing has been nothing short of perfect. There's great synergy in our program right now," said men's athletic director Mike Hamilton, who hired Pearl at the end of the 2005 season.
The ideas for renovations were discussed while Buzz Peterson was still coach, but it likely would have been difficult to get the project going while the men continued to struggle to keep up with the success of the Lady Vols.
All of that changed when Pearl arrived, bringing an up-tempo style fans enjoy and that has brought more wins.
"The momentum we've been able to gain with the success has really allowed us to move more quickly and do the things we want to do," Hamilton said.
Some type of anniversary celebration will be held to reopen the arena, he said.
Thompson-Boling, which has more than 411,000 square feet of floor space, sits next to the even-larger Neyland Stadium along the Knoxville riverfront.
The signature orange plastic seats that filled the arena will be replaced by black ones. The 32 new luxury suites and 166 box seats being built over the north balcony are already sold out.
 Artist's Rendering of the new Pratt Pavilion |
University officials had grand ideas when Thompson-Boling was in the planning stages. After the initial excitement wore off and crowds for men's games became smaller, many criticized the arena for being too big.
"We felt like Tennessee fans would come out and support in those numbers. What we've shown in the last two years is that when we've put the right type of product on the floor, then we will," Hamilton said.
Meanwhile, the Vols and Lady Vols have been relegated to practicing for the NCAA tournament in the old Stokely Athletic Center, the teams' old home from 1959-87.
The men shared the court with the volleyball team for practice Monday afternoon. A black curtain was hung between the sections, and large fans cooled the area where there is no air conditioning.
The practice setting and next year's fancy surroundings were far from Pearl's mind. He's focusing on more wins, with the Vols facing top-seeded Ohio State in San Antonio on Thursday.
"Right now is not the time to reflect. Right now it's about preparing for Ohio State. I'm certainly pleased and proud of my team," Pearl said.
"We're going to do everything we can to be ready, to be focused and take advantage of the opportunity."
So are the construction workers.
