Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello signed a long awaited contract extension last week that keeps the Vols’ coach under contract through the 2026 season and pays him a staggering $1.5 million a year.
Plans or a commitment to renovating Lindsey Nelson Stadium were not included in the fourth year head coach’s extension but Vitello provided some clarity on that front this week when he met with the local media.
“They were ongoing, they were extensive and they are still going,” Vitello said of his discussions with UT’s athletic department about renovating Lindsey Nelson Stadium. “It was something we really couldn’t conclude in a relatively reasonable amount of time so we decided to move forward and set our personnel and kind of put that to rest and give everyone peace of mind with that, including our staff. Kind of treat it as that’s part one of two. At least now donors, fans, our recruits, players know exactly what we’re looking to do with our baseball program as well as personnel goes, and that’s be fully committed. Keep the band together as we say in the office and move on to step two which is the stadium project.”
“There’s so many different ideas. New administration that’s getting to know us and a lot of these discussions were put on hold because we’re in the middle of a season. Unfortunately a lot of them involve red tape whether it be legislatures or other big words I don’t really know that well, have to be involved. Not just our administration and our baseball program.”
How long it will take to get all of Lindsey Nelson Stadium’s renovations approved at a state level remains to be seen. Renovation plans for Tennessee’s baseball stadium were not discussed at Thursday’s State Building Commission meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9.
As for what Tennessee wants to do to the stadium, Vitello has an idea that starts with expanding down the left field line.
“We really do,” Vitello said of if they have a vision for the stadium. “The easy one is, if you were fortunate enough to attend the super regional we had a lot of rowdy fans down the left field line, but there could have been more and they could have been sitting in a little higher level of seat than just a bleacher. … We would like at the very least, semi temporary seating to be there at the start of next year. We’d like to have those types of crowds for all of our SEC games and some of our others. Having something there would be nice for next year but down the road we have to get something permanent there. It will give a finished look to our stadium.”
Vitello’s belief that full expansion down the left field line couldn’t be completed by the start of the 2022 season is telling about the red tape Tennessee has to go through in this process.
Questions to follow moving forward include whether Tennessee proposes its renovations all at once or in phase by phase integrals. Doing it phase by phase seems more logical and likely, allowing Tennessee flexibility and time to fundraise the project.
If they were to go that route, what all is included in phase one? On top of adding seats down the left field line, adding suites on top of those seats and double decking the patios in left field seem to be the most logical options.
What would Tennessee prioritize in a second phase? The stadium’s entrance and press box are perhaps the two worst, and ugliest, parts of Lindsey Nelson Stadium but how feasible would a simple renovation be? Would Tennessee have to tear down and rebuild the whole grandstand?
One other option would be to add seats behind the right field line or to extend the patios all the way around the outfield. Vitello likes the idea of Lindsey Nelson Stadium being accessible from all sides and for fans to be able to walk all the way around the field on the inside of the stadium.
The project could be cheaper than changing the entrance or press but would likely include cutting out or rerouting Todd Helton Drive behind the outfield. While that’s certainly possible, there would be an abundance of red tape to overcome.
Renovations to Lindsey Nelson Stadium, as well as raises for his assistants, has always been at the forefront of Vitello’s interest for Tennessee’s baseball program. Vitello reiterated that need for renovations this week.
“I think to sustain it (success) it’s almost 100% necessary,” Vitello said. “If you follow college baseball there’s a couple things that are in place for the programs that have sustained success. Now and then you will see a blimp on the radar or a well coached program that will come and go with their success but only now in again do they jump on the big stage, so to speak. But for the ones that consistently are doing the things that get them to Omaha and on the big stage in general, there’s a formula there. One of the things— doesn’t have to be in place but for most of them it is— is facilities or they’ve got some other benefit going on so we need that to be an asset for us too.”
