Renovated Bryant Denny Stadium Looks Great

After several years of work they finally finished the renovations to Bryant Denny Stadium. It was finished just in time for the first game of the season and hosted the largest crowd to ever see a football game in the state. The stadium looked radically different than it did when I first saw it in 1977. Of course, at that time, the maximum capacity was only 60,000. Now the total reaches 92, 138.

The capacity jumped from 83,818 before the expansion, and you could certainly tell the difference in the number of people in and out of the stadium. Before the first game, the planning people anticipated an extra 10,000 cars in and around the campus for each game. I don't know how they get those numbers, but after attending the first 3 games of this season, I can tell a big difference in the cars looking for parking before the games and the crowd of people wandering around the Quad and walking over to the stadium before the games start.

Now I've already been in the new upper deck section for one game, and the top row is actually higher than the highest seats on either the west stands or the east stands. My seats for that game weren't on the top row, but they were no more than ten rows below it. You can see from this pre-game photo that you have a view all the way down to 12th Street from the new upper section. I didn't walk up to the top and snap a photo of the view back toward campus. If you get a chance to go to a game and sit in the new section, be warned...the steps are steep and by the time you walk up the outer steps to get to the upper deck, its alot higher up depending on the row your tickets are designated. Unlike the East and West stands, I didn't see a ramp to walk up to the upper section, just several flights of stairs.

Of course, if you are fortunate enough to get tickets in "The Zone" section, you get the air- conditioned indoor seating and refreshments for when you are tired of sitting outside in your seats. But those are only available for Tide Pride contributors or those who purchase them for a premium price from the holder. I'm not sure how much more expensive they would be from a scalper.

Overall, you can tell the difference in the increased number of fans in the stadium as well. The noise level is higher as a result of more people and the renovated section that encloses the upper end zone seats. I would think that it could be much more difficult for opposing players to hear signals when the crowd reaches a frenzy. The addition of 2 new video boards and the two ribbons boards on each side really add to the overall appearance.

The fans seem to really enjoy the atmosphere and despite some lackluster opponents for the first three games of the season, all the games were sold out. The first game was a really hard sell-out, without any tickets floating around from scalpers outside the stadium. You could buy tickets for the next two games, but since the Vandy game started at 2:00 and was on TV there were plenty of scalpers offering the tickets for sale.

If you haven't had a chance to visit, you should drop by for one of the upcoming games.