For a few hours on each of eight Saturday afternoons last fall, Neyland Stadium became Tennessee’s fifth largest city.
Although below the historic norm, the average crowd last year of 99,220 for each of Tennessee’s home football games still was projected to generate a record $27.7 million in ticket sales.
But even more important for the university, officials say, is the public attention and financial support such games help generate.
The University of Tennessee’s athletic program projects it will generate even more money than those ticket sales from donations to the operating budget for UT’s athletic program. UT expects to garner nearly $28 million in contributions this year from those willing to pay premiums for the best stadium and arena seats.
Such donations come on top of $255 million UT has raised since 2005 from major donors for athletic facilities, endowments and other capital programs.