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Vandy doing $60 million upgrade

Associated Press
Originally published 02:07 p.m., May 20, 2008
Updated 03:05 p.m., May 20, 2008

NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt can’t go in and rebuild the smallest football stadium in the Southeastern Conference. So university officials Tuesday unveiled a five-phase, nearly $60 million renovation of its athletic facilities that include giving the stadium a facelift.

Work started on Phase I in April and will include new bathrooms, concession stands, fresh paint and a new facade at one end of a stadium that hasn’t had any major structural changes since a nine-month reconstruction was finished before the 1981 season. Eventually, new brick will surround the entire stadium.

Football coach Bobby Johnson, who has seen renovations to the baseball field and at Memorial Gym help baseball and both men’s and women’s basketball, said he is very excited.

“You invest, I think you give teams at Vanderbilt a chance to compete, and we’re finally glad that they’re investing in football in the same way. And obviously football’s a bigger expense. We’ve got more players, a bigger stadium. It costs a lot more to do. But we’re thrilled they said, ‘Hey, let’s bring them up to the same level,’” Johnson said.

“You can’t renovate the whole stadium. But what they propose ... I think what we’re spending is going to be a tremendous, tremendous upgrade of our facility in football.”

David Williams, vice chancellor of university affairs and student athletics in charge of Vandy’s athletics, announced the project Tuesday morning. Each phase will start after a sport’s season has completed, and his target date for completion is 2013 even as the university is raising money separately to pay for the work.

“Some people may say we have joined the arms race. I think we’re just basically taking care of business,” Williams said.

The bulk of the renovations will benefit the football program. Johnson eventually will get new meeting rooms, a renovated and expanded training room, dining hall and offices and even a place where he can meet with his entire team. Synthetic turf will be added to the practice field for football.

Eventually, brick will surround most of the football stadium, and there’s already a suggestion for what fans can call the renovated field.

“We’re basically going to call the place the Brickhouse,” Williams said.

The fourth phase will install a building in the north end zone with new seating and put artificial turf back on the football field, replacing the natural grass installed in 1999. Other than adding a jumbo video screen in 1998 for the NFL’s then-Tennessee Oilers and the removal of the north end zone bleachers in 2003, that’s been it for work at Vanderbilt Stadium.

The football program hasn’t had a winning season since 1982, but came very close in 2007 going 5-7 with two losses by a combined four points. The SEC’s smallest stadium, seating 39,773, averaged 34,629 in 2007 for 87.07 percent of capacity. Visiting SEC teams contribute greatly to attendance.

Williams said Vanderbilt has been shedding the image of the lovable losers over the past decade.

“Building some nice facilities is no guarantee we’ll have success, but it gives us a chance and that’s all we want is a fighting chance,” Williams said.

A 2002 renovation of Memorial Gym added a practice gym and new coaches’ offices that was so successful in wooing recruits that men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings said then-Kentucky coach Tubby Smith sent his staff down to check out what Vanderbilt had.

“They heard it was so nice they wanted to build something like that. How about that? Kentucky was trying to keep up with us and our offices,” Stallings said.

Memorial is included in the first phase with expansion of the locker rooms for both men’s and women’s basketball. Women’s basketball coach Melanie Balcomb said the locker rooms will be personalized with reminders of the players who have had success at Vandy in the past with space to relax before and after practices.

It’s the cost of competing in the SEC and trying to reach the Final Four, where Vandy’s women haven’t been since 1993.

“The facilities that we see when we’re on the road are phenomenal. I think we’re just going to be able to match those facilities and be just as current,” Balcomb said.

© 2008, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

       29 Comments

Posted by CatScratchFever on May 20, 2008 at 2:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wish they would spend $5 to hire someone to move the team seating to the sidelines.

Posted by LadyVolsEighTimes on May 20, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Cat, I think that is Vandy's greatest advantage, especially with OOC teams that don't see it very often.

Posted by Vols1998 on May 20, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yawn!.......finding things to write about is getting thin.......by the way.....this is GO VOLS XRTA!.........When Vandy's overall sports programs are up there with UT....I might be interested in reading.

Go Vols!

Posted by gravegr on May 20, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hopefully some of tne money will be used to relocate the basketball teams to side court.

Posted by rabidvolfan on May 20, 2008 at 3:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

History tends to repeat itself. Who knows if Vandy might become a national power in football like they were 90 years ago.

Posted by Raynoch on May 20, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You have to give them credit. They are always thinking.

Posted by ETorange on May 20, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We will be also adding new EXIT's to the stadium stated Williams. This will allow visiting teams to sell out the stadium quicker, and allow them to leave in a more orderly fashion at the begining of the 4th quarter.

Peabody Plaza ( NEW MAME )will be overseen by members of the Men's basketball team and staff during the season to enable the REALLY SMART guys to work on math skills, such as counting and how many time-outs are remaining in a game.

Posted by IBleedOrange444 on May 20, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Vice Chancellor Williams reports that, in order to pay for these expansions, Coach Bobby Johnson will be going on a Southeastern tour reinacting Steve Martin's King Tut skit from SNL. When interviewed on the subject Johnson stated that, "the remaining shreads of my dignity are a small price to pay for these types of upgrades."

Posted by Vols1998 on May 20, 2008 at 5:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

444.......that is too funny!!!!!

Posted by ETorange on May 20, 2008 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Early returns are coming and in the lead for NEW NAME :

One Brick Shy ( 54 ) followed by I Just *Went* A Brick (10 )

Just added to the collectables section signed banjo's and arrow head pieces.

Posted by ETorange on May 20, 2008 at 8:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"TONITE ONLY"

Live at Ernest Tubbs "The Wild and Crazy Guys"

Bobby Johnson & Kevin Stallings

Posted by JohnAdamsIsTrash on May 21, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This is great! Now their Intramural department will have something to be proud of! Go Flag Football!!!

Posted by volboy81 on May 21, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

NEW STUFF FOR PEABODY!!! GREAT...Now move where you belong....CUSA!

Posted by feathersax on May 21, 2008 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The Brickhouse, eh? Not the song about the stacked girlfriend...more likely about the Brick #$*@ House more appropriate to Peabody football. Put lipstick on a pig, & it's still a porker.

Posted by TommyJack on May 21, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Surprised they didn't combine the stadium with the library.

Posted by murrayvol on May 21, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TJ: That would be Phase 3.

It's really swell that Bobby will at last have a place where the whole team can meet and not get rained on. Can we expect valets and warm towels in the johns?

Posted by invisiblekid on May 21, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They'd better invest some money in keeping Johnson as their coach. I don't think anyone can have sustained success at Vandy in football, but Johnson has come as close as anyone in the past 20 years.

Murray, all things in good time. First, they have to get johns, and not the portable variety, before they can have the valets and warm towels.

Posted by WorkinLikeHeck on May 21, 2008 at 3:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

is Foolmore the only modern era (post WWII) UT coach to ever lose to team without an athletic department? Hey Foolmore....LOL!!!!!!

Posted by marc_ash on May 21, 2008 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well, sounds as if they are following true to form with a majority of bigger programs in the country. UT started their "10 year plan) back when I started working for them in 01. I think if you are going to compete as a top ranked institution, you have to spend the money to upgrade your facilities (all facilities on campus).

Vandy is doing what they know they need to do to compete in the highly competitive SEC.

Posted by bamacheats on May 21, 2008 at 5:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wow! If Vandy adds $60 mil why don't we call their stadium - "The 60.1 million dollar stadium"

Posted by mcbrim1998 on May 21, 2008 at 9:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You Vol fans need to lay off of Vandy. I don't see anything where they are raising ticket costs and hitting the fans like some other school we are all familiar with.

Kindest Regards

Posted by 55Vol on May 21, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Workin is Vandy's Chief Financial Advisor

Posted by FishTacos on May 21, 2008 at 10:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Vandy is doing a 60 million dollar upgrade. They are paying Tennessee fans to attend their games. With the guarentee they will only schedule before or after the Vols the play.

Posted by BigOrangeVol on May 22, 2008 at 12:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My vote would be to just continue calling it the $#!%house or Mini-Ney-land West. Why change just because they are painting it, cleaning the bathrooms and laying a few skids of brick to hide their humiliation?

41K? They actually have 10K more capacity than MTSU; what a waste? Tiger High can get 66K into the Liberty Toilet Bowl if they are playing UT.

Rutgers, East Carolina, TCU, Central Florida, Jackson State, Yale and Penn all have bigger stadiums than VU. What an embarrassment for VU and the remaining legit members of the SEC!

Way to go VU, you're stadium is ranked 72nd in the nation in colligate stadium capacity!!!

Squeeze Martha Ingram and bleed her dry!

Posted by GreerVol22 on May 22, 2008 at 7:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It's not the size of your stadium that matters...it's how you use it.

Posted by pdhuff on May 22, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

They're just re-painting the bus, instead of fixing the engine. Many years ago, they put endzone seat ducats in loaves of Colonial Bread.

Had urchins and waifs running amok in the usually
moon-scape seats. Big Fletch said he'd rather have a son cut from Tennessee as start for Vandy. Couldn't say that today around Tebow.

Belle Meade can afford the 60Mil.

Posted by TommyJack on May 22, 2008 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

$60m would pay a bunch of philosophy, art history, and english profs.

Posted by pdhuff on May 22, 2008 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

60mil would have the entire NY Giants coaching staff and cheerleaders and 20,000 more fans.

Don't guess you can make chicken soup out of chicken s##t. Vandy is innovative, though, although not to the level of the Gators with Trimmin' Tebow, the Slicin' QB.

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