Newest Neyland Stadium upgrades bring modern amenities to historic venue

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A lot of things have changed inside the walls of Neyland Stadium over the past eight months. From new concessions to a brand new kitchen to make all the food, fans have a lot to be excited about this season.

“As we started, our number one goal was to improve the fan experience,” Deputy Athletic Director Ryan Alpert said.

UT achieved that by expanding their options and introducing a new way to grab concessions. Walk-through or self-service concession areas are spread throughout the stadium. The athletic department taking pride in listening to the fans and delivering to the best of their ability.

“As you’ve seen Danny [White] is very responsive to the fan base,” Alpert said. “I think our entire athletic department when your leader takes that approach. We have a fan experience group, the Tennessee Fund, our season ticketholders, they all have points of contact. That communication is 365 and we are always trying to listen and learn.”

As part of that learning is taking things from the ‘pro mold’ an implementing them inside Neyland.

“We all just walked the North concourse concession stands that we took, what was an open area and did a concrete pour over and then these walk-through concepts,” Alpert said. “That amenity came from the pro model. We figured if we could take a space in our stadium and maximize its efficiency and offer a new product to our fans, we knew that they would desire it and it would be a great addition for them.”

On top of new concession stands, there are new TVs around the concourse as well as 100 new points of sale. With all the new that is inside Neyland Stadium, the athletic department is striving to maintain the history and tradition of the 102-year-old building.

“Our motto has always been and continue to be, ‘we want to honor the past but modernize for the future,'” Alpert said. “I believe and I think a lot of the feedback we have received is our fans appreciate the approach we are taking with our new partner Pilo t bringing back home of the Vols, but also taking some of our traditional spaces in the stadium, identifying the needs but keeping Neyland Stadium, Neyland Stadium.”

For the first time in Neyland Stadium history, there is a full kitchen commissary in the South end of the stadium. It’s accompanied by a warehouse to store all of the dry goods that will be used throughout the course of the football season.

UT says ‘Rocky Top WIFI’ now encompasses the entire stadium. There is also a revamped club on the West sideline and a new partner for the Social Deck in the North endzone. It is now called the ‘Yee-Haw Ole Smoky Social Deck.’

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