Vanderbilt Stadium has not undergone a major renovation phase since '81Vanderbilt Univ.
Vanderbilt administrators "undercut efforts to raise funds for a stadium project to focus on building other campus structures," according to sources cited by Adam Sparks of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Vanderbilt AD David Williams in '16 expressed his desire for a new stadium, but athletics fundraisers were "prohibited from soliciting certain donors already targeted by university fundraisers." The school is amid a $600M capital project, which "includes no athletics facilities." Williams said that a renovation to Memorial Gym "may happen before any major work is done to Vanderbilt Stadium." He added that he still wants to "upgrade the stadium." Williams: "Oh, the desire is very much there. ... We value it, but we have to do it within our framework." Williams in '16 estimated that a new stadium would cost between $60-90M, or "perhaps more depending on amenities and several other factors." According to Vanderbilt financial reports, the university invested $308M "combined in capital projects and acquisitions" in '16 and '17, but only $15M "were in athletics." That was mostly spent on a new $12M baseball facility, which $2.5M coming from Vanderbilt alum and current Red Sox P David Price. Vanderbilt Stadium has "not undergone a major renovation" since '81, while each of the other 13 SEC schools have had "major football stadium renovations" since '06. Williams: "We clearly know that our stadium situation needs to be improved, but there are no imminent plans.” Vanderbilt opened a $30M "multipurpose indoor practice facility in 2014, which is separate from the stadium" and was funded by a "combination of philanthropy and university investment" (TENNESSEAN.com, 8/3).
