Tennessee athletic director, John Currie, is seen before an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)KNOXVILLE – The athletics committee of the University of Tennessee’s board of trustees moved Thursday to spend an additional $74 million on phase one of a substantial Neyland Stadium renovation project slated to begin this summer.
The full board will vote Friday on the proposal, which condenses a three-phase process to two phases and is projected ultimately to save the university $10.5 million on the project’s original $350.1 million price tag.
The project still would be the third-most expensive stadium renovation in college football since 2010, according to data included in athletic director John Currie’s presentation to the committee. Only Texas A&M’s $485 million renovation to Kyle Field in 2014 ranks higher in cost among recent stadium projects in the Southeastern Conference.
“We are talking about a second century of service,” Currie said as he detailed the need to catch up the south end of the stadium with modern fan amenities and the rest of the stadium’s architecture.
The athletic department plans to complete both phases of the project by the 2021 season, which will be the 100th year in Neyland Stadium’s history.