Vanderbilt football to hold first scrimmage at FirstBank Stadium in mid-renovation
Vanderbilt football returns to FirstBank Stadium on Sunday for the first time since its season-ending loss to Tennessee on Nov. 26.
In the nine months since, the Commodores have demolished both end zones and begun construction that won't be finished until fall 2024. Only recently have the renovations progressed to a point that the field is playable.
Vanderbilt has held its scrimmages at Ensworth High School, including one a week ago, and played its spring game at the soccer and lacrosse complex. But on Sunday, the Commodores will scrimmage at FirstBank Stadium in preparation for their opener Aug. 26 against Hawaii (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).
"I think that everything kind of changes when you open up both ends of the stadium," coach Clark Lea said after Saturday's practice. "So there needs to be just kind of visual awareness, the feel of how the wind may transfer through differently. We're going to acclimate to what game day is going to feel like for us in terms of the spaces we're going to use. And I do think that's important, more important this year than maybe in years past, where we're just copy and paste. This will be a new experience for our team."
Lea said the team will review its temporary locker room setup, which even could be nicer than the previous outdated arrangement. The lone restriction on game play will be that the upright in the north end zone has not been fully installed, which will require Vanderbilt to kick solely into the south end zone.
That issue is expected to be fixed in time for the season opener. Once the season starts, the end zones will have extensive netting for field goals, but there is still the potential need to retrieve balls from construction zones.
Grad transfer Aeneas DiCosmo joined the team in the spring from Stanford. DiCosmo's only time at FirstBank Stadium was when he played for the Cardinal when they visited Vanderbilt in 2021.
"They're trying to upgrade the place, so I don't think too hard about it, but I'm excited to definitely be in it for the first time (at Vanderbilt)," he said.
WHAT TO KNOW How to navigate Vanderbilt football home games amid First BankStadium construction
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football to scrimmage at FirstBank Stadium amid construction
