Ask Mike - June, 2004 - University of Tennessee Athletics

July 12, 2004

Thank you for your continued interest and your response to the "Ask Mike" feature on utsports.com. I appreciate all the comments, questions and suggestions.

Go Vols!
Mike Hamilton

I have not received my parking pass application for football, when am I suppose to get it?
Ron Boniol
Nashville, Tenn.

Mike Hamilton: Hi Ron,
Parking pass applications were delayed due to changes in some of the parking garage locations. You should receive your application this week.

Thanks for your support of Tennessee athletics.

Go Vols!
Mike

Mike, I've read that you have been visiting other football stadiums to get ideas on renovations to Neyland. How long will it be before we see drawings or any kind of a design, the future look of Neyland. And will the renovations include the class rooms under the stadium? One last question, do you see adding more seating to Neyland, I know Neyland is the third largest in the nation, I like to see us number 1. I would be willing to contribute funds to help with this project. Thanks!
Randy Hill
Nashville, Tenn.

Mike Hamilton: Hi, Randy! Thanks for your e-mail.

We are currently in the process of developing a master plan for Neyland Stadium to assess needed renovations and upgrades for the stadium for the next 15-20 years and looking for fan input. Among the changes that need to be made at Neyland Stadium are fan amenities such as bathrooms, concession areas, concourse spaces, as well as structural issues that go along with having an 80-year old stadium. The structural and amenity improvements are estimated to be a $50-$100 million investment over the next 20 years. We recently visited six stadiums across the country, and we received more than 500 responses from fans giving us their input on how we can improve Neyland Stadium. From that, the architects are in the process of creating a master plan for Neyland Stadium. We expect to have renderings within the next six months.

To answer your question about adding additional seats, unfortunately it will probably be cost prohibitive to build an additional deck on Neyland Stadium; however, it is something that the architects will look at.

Thanks for your interest in Tennessee athletics.

Go Vols!
Mike

Mr Hamilton, I am a native son of the great state of TN. I have been seeing the articles about season ticket holders, and their problems. How about the rest of us Vol Fans! Is there anyway you could see that more football tickets were available for us? Mike it seems the "scalpers" get the all the tickets. That is not fair. We try to get to Knoxville, 2 games a year, but when the tickets go on sale it seems impossible to get even one! We have to buy from "scalpers". Can you address this problem, and give me an idea of what to do. Thanks!
Jeff B. Woodruff
South Boston, Va.

Mike Hamilton: Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your e-mail. We do hope the season ticket allocation change will cut down on the number of prime seats being scalped. As for your question about getting single game tickets, we will be putting single game tickets for UNLV, Louisiana Tech and Kentucky for sale on the internet July 1 and tickets for all other games around July 31. Check utsports.com for exact dates. Also, many people are not aware that on the Thursday before a home game, any student ticket that is not picked up goes on sale to the public. This might be another option for you. If you're interested in four or five games, we also have mini season ticket packages available. Here's a link to that information.

Thanks for your support of Tennessee athletics. I hope you can make it to a game this year!

Go Vols!
Mike