Big concerts could come back to Neyland Stadium when the entertainment district comes alive
The forthcoming Neyland Entertainment District will be a gameday dream for Vols fans with a planned hotel rooftop bar overlooking the stadium, restaurants, shops and a new tailgating area.
But there's an advantage even for those who don't bleed orange and white: The new district offers a big incentive for the university to bring major concerts back to Neyland Stadium.
Just take a look at how other cities have turned their stadiums and arenas into year-round destinations. The districts come alive throughout the year with concerts and other big events that have nothing to do with sports.
L.A. Live is a glossy, $3 billion entertainment district adjacent to Crypto.com Arena, where the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Sparks play basketball and the Kings play hockey.
The Grammys, Emmys, ESPYs, American Music Awards and NBA All-Star Game are among the events held there.
Inspiration: Big ideas inspiring Tennessee's Neyland Entertainment District, from Atlanta to Chicago
Of course, the Neyland Entertainment District won’t resemble the glitzy L.A. Live. But they will share a key feature – multiple concert venues.
L.A. Live is surrounded by Crypto.com Arena (20,000 capacity), Microsoft Arena (7,100) and The Novo (2,300).
The Neyland Entertainment District will be located between Neyland Stadium (101,915) and Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678). That means UT has the eighth-largest stadium in the world and the third largest on-campus basketball arena in the country adjacent to the planned entertainment district.
Thompson-Boling Arena routinely hosts concerts, including The Eagles, Journey, Lizzo and Stevie Nicks so far this year.
Iconic acts such as Johnny Cash and Michael Jackson performed at Neyland Stadium decades ago. But the enormous football stadium has hosted only a handful of concerts in the 2000s.
Knoxville native Kenny Chesney played to a huge crowd in 2003. The last was Garth Brooks in 2019, which broke a Neyland record for concert ticket sales with almost 85,000 people in attendance.
The Neyland Entertainment District, a new pedestrian bridge connecting the south waterfront to Thompson-Boling Arena and additional waterfront developments could attract more major concerts to both venues.
Designing and building the district coudl take years. It will be built on top of the G10 parking garage between Neyland and THompson-Boling.
In mid-June, the University of Tennessee can start seeking proposals from private firms interested in playing a part in the Neyland Entertainment District. Until then, the university won’t have a projected timetable or cost for the project.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Neyland Stadium concerts could return with new entertainment district
