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Neyland Stadium

Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN, home of Tennessee. Capacity 101,915. Opened 1921.

Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TNPhoto: Neomrbungle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Capacity
101,915
Opened
1921
Surface
Grass
Roof
Open air
Elevation
892 ft
Home team
Tennessee
Tennessee here
123–⁠57 games on file since 2001
College GameDay
13 times

Since it opened: Tennessee is 529–⁠145–⁠24 in home games from the 1921 season on. Our source names a game’s stadium only from 2001, so that count takes every earlier home game not marked neutral and may include a few played elsewhere.

Biggest games here

From the games on file here, 2001 on: title and postseason games, meetings of two ranked teams, upsets by our pregame Elo ratings and the biggest swings in CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Capacity through the years

From 3,200 seats in 1921 to 101,915 today, across 23 documented figures. Sources disagree on eight stretches, drawn in orange; the table says which figure we use and why.

Neyland Stadium capacity by season, 1921 to 2026050k100k150k194019601980200020203,200101,915104,079
Every figure and its sources
1921–⁠19253,200Official source
1926–⁠19286,800Official source
192917,860Sources disagreeTennessee Athletics gives 6,800; Wikipedia gives 6,800. Tennessee’s current stadium page dates the 42-row West Stands to 1929 and Section X to 1937; the 2011 Volmanac (which Wikipedia follows) gives 1930 and 1934. Proposed for the current page, the department’s latest statement; a 1929-37 source would settle it. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
1930–⁠193317,860Official source
1934–⁠193617,860Sources disagreeTennessee Athletics gives 19,360. Tennessee’s current stadium page dates the 42-row West Stands to 1929 and Section X to 1937; the 2011 Volmanac (which Wikipedia follows) gives 1930 and 1934. Proposed for the current page, the department’s latest statement; a 1929-37 source would settle it. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
193719,360Official source
1938–⁠194731,390Official source
1948–⁠196146,390Sources disagreeWikipedia gives 46,290. Both of Tennessee’s documents give 46,390 (31,390 plus 15,000 seats); Wikipedia’s 46,290 cites the 2011 Volmanac, which says 46,390. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
1962–⁠196552,227Sources disagreeTennessee Athletics gives 51,527. Tennessee’s current table (5,837 seats, 52,227) adds up row by row to its later totals; the 2011 Volmanac’s 5,137 and 51,527 differ, and Wikipedia’s 5,837 seats matches the current table. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
1966–⁠196758,122Sources disagreeTennessee Athletics gives 57,122. Tennessee’s current table (5,895 seats, 58,122) adds up to the 64,429 both of its documents give for 1968; the 2011 Volmanac’s 57,122 follows its 51,527 for 1962. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
1968–⁠197164,429Official source
1972–⁠197570,650Official source
1976–⁠197980,250Sources disagreeTennessee Athletics gives 79,250. Tennessee’s current table gives 80,250 (70,650 plus 9,600), as does Wikipedia; the 2011 Volmanac’s 79,250 is the same sum miscounted. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
1980–⁠198691,249Sources disagreeTennessee Athletics gives 89,749. Tennessee’s current table gives 91,249 (80,250 plus a net 10,999), consistent with its 1987 total of 91,110 after the suites’ net loss; the 2011 Volmanac’s 89,749 then rises to 91,110 for a net loss. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
1987–⁠198991,110Official source
1990–⁠199591,902Official source
1996102,544Official source
1997–⁠1999102,854Official source
2000–⁠2005104,079Sources disagreeWikipedia gives 104,037. Both of Tennessee’s documents give 104,079 after the 2000 East Executive Suites; Wikipedia’s 104,037 cites the 2011 Volmanac, which says 104,079. (Our reading, not yet reviewed.)
2006–⁠2007102,037Official source
2008–⁠2009100,011Official source
2010–⁠2021102,455Official source
2022 on101,915Official source

How we know

A list that ends one range in the year the next begins (“1969–⁠1972”, then “1972–⁠1976”) is read as a change that year.

Official source: the school’s own publication. Independently corroborated: two or more sources that don’t copy each other. Sources disagree: we show both and say which we use and why. Single source: one source only. Documented for 106 of the 106 seasons since 1921; 41 disputed (as of 2026-10-18). All the evidence.

Crowds season by season

Average and biggest crowd at Neyland Stadium by season, 2001 to 202660k80k100k120k2001: 106,843 a game over 6 games; biggest 108,4722002: 106,705 a game over 7 games; biggest 108,7222003: 105,038 a game over 7 games; biggest 107,8812004: 106,644 a game over 7 games; biggest 109,0612005: 107,593 a game over 6 games; biggest 108,4702006: 105,789 a game over 7 games; biggest 106,8182007: 103,918 a game over 7 games; biggest 107,0522008: 101,448 a game over 7 games; biggest 106,1382009: 99,220 a game over 8 games; biggest 103,2612010: 99,781 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552011: 94,705 a game over 8 games; biggest 102,4552012: 89,965 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552013: 95,584 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552014: 99,754 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552015: 100,584 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552016: 100,968 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552017: 95,779 a game over 7 games; biggest 102,4552018: 92,984 a game over 7 games; biggest 100,0272019: 87,864 a game over 8 games; biggest 92,7092020: 22,532 a game over 5 games; biggest 23,3942021: 86,386 a game over 8 games; biggest 102,4552022: 100,532 a game over 7 games; biggest 101,9152023: 101,915 a game over 7 games; biggest 101,9152024: 101,915 a game over 7 games; biggest 101,9152025: 101,915 a game over 7 games; biggest 101,9152026: 101,915 a game over 4 games; biggest 101,915200120062011201620212026

Biggest crowds on file

109,061Florida at Tennessee2004
108,722Florida at Tennessee2002
108,625UNLV at Tennessee2004
108,472LSU at Tennessee2001
108,470Georgia at Tennessee2005

Bars are each season’s average crowd, dots its biggest (the record in orange), the dashed rule today’s capacity. Attendance is on file for most games from 2001 on.

College GameDay here

ESPN’s College GameDay has broadcast from Neyland Stadium 13 times, first in 1995.

Sep 26, 2026Texas 20, Tennessee 17Outside Ayres Hall
Sep 13, 2025Georgia 44, Tennessee 41Ayres Hall
Oct 15, 2022Tennessee 52, Alabama 49Ayres Hall
Sep 24, 2022Tennessee 38, Florida 33Ayres Hall
Sep 24, 2016Tennessee 38, Florida 28Ayres Hall
Sep 15, 2012Florida 37, Tennessee 20Circle Park
Oct 2, 2004Auburn 34, Tennessee 10Outside Thompson–Boling Arena
Nov 9, 2002Miami 26, Tennessee 3Outside Thompson–Boling Arena
Sep 21, 2002Florida 30, Tennessee 13Outside Thompson–Boling Arena
Sep 16, 2000Florida 27, Tennessee 23Outside Thompson–Boling Arena
Nov 6, 1999Tennessee 38, Notre Dame 14
Sep 21, 1996Florida 35, Tennessee 29
Sep 9, 1995Tennessee 30, Georgia 27

College GameDay’s sites from Wikipedia’s list of College GameDay locations (CC BY-SA).

Weather on game day

Coldest kickoffs

Hottest kickoffs

Coldest game days before 2004

Hottest game days before 2004

Snow on game day

Kickoffs: the NOAA report nearest kickoff from the closest weather station (NOAA NCEI Integrated Surface Database). Game days: the day’s high and snowfall at the NOAA station nearest the stadium, for Tennessee’s home games before 2004 (NOAA GHCN-Daily, public domain).

The stadium’s history

Former names
Shields–Watkins Field (1921–present)
Architect
McCarty Holsaple McCarty (renovations)
Surface over the years
Grass (1921–⁠1967, 1994–present)
Artificial turf (1968–⁠1993)
Expanded
1926, 1929, 1937–⁠1938, 1948, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1987, 1990, 1996
Renovated
2006, 2008, 2010, 2022
Record crowd
109,061, on September 18, 2004, vs. Florida

From the stadium’s Wikipedia article, Neyland Stadium.

From above

50 mN ↑
The stadium’s footprint, north up: about 240 by 260 meters (780 by 860 feet), the field in green. Outline from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Statues

Statues: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikimedia Commons: statues placed at the stadium or within a few hundred meters of it. Names link to their pages here; each statue links to its record there.

Recent games here

Oct 17, 202614Tennessee 26, 6Alabama 10
Oct 3, 202617Tennessee 24, Auburn 14
Sep 26, 20261Texas 20, 14Tennessee 17
Sep 19, 202615Tennessee 42, Kennesaw State 9
Sep 5, 202620Tennessee 56, Furman 9
Nov 29, 202512Vanderbilt 45, 18Tennessee 24
Nov 15, 202521Tennessee 42, New Mexico State 9
Nov 1, 202518Oklahoma 33, 14Tennessee 27
Oct 11, 202512Tennessee 34, Arkansas 31
Sep 20, 202515Tennessee 56, UAB 24
Sep 13, 20256Georgia 44, 15Tennessee 41
Sep 6, 202522Tennessee 72, East Tennessee State 17

Pouring rights

Coca-Cola has the stadium’s soft-drink pouring rights, on record since 2024. Single source.