I went to the UT/UK game last night at Thompson Boling. A few things that I noticed there that I did like and didn't like keeping this thread in mind while I was there:
First of all a quote I overheard going in the gate from a UT fan: "We are so lucky to have a football stadium and basketball arena on campus. If you go to USC, you have to drive to (one or the other)." Thought it was hilarious in my head knowing the debate of this thread lol.
Positives:
- They have several entrances and the process to enter super quick. (Granted, there's no vax mandates/mask mandates to navigate either)
This could also be a negative because unless you note the gate number you enter, and you're not super familiar with the area, they ALL look the same when you go to leave lol.
- The sound system sounded GREAT! As far as the music goes, it was hard to understand the PA announcer though.
- Traffic wasn't bad at all, but I think that had more to do with how long it took us to find our car/walk to it than it did traffic control :wtf:
Negatives:
- The outside of the building looks as bland as you can get. You would never know it was Tennessee's home venue by anything on the outside of the building.
- The upper part of the upper deck is waaay too high. The steps are uncomfortable small and steep. I didn't seat there last night, but I have before and trust me, if you have a 4 year old who has to go to the bathroom twice, wants a snack/drink, etc. it is way too inconvenient to sit there. Also, pack a telescope.
- I attended another game (Arizona) this season and parking was awesome! Parked at the football stadium, 5 min walk and was at the door. Last night, was a different story. The lot we parked in the last time was a permit only lot last night. Ended up having to pass 2 full public lots to get to a public lot 1.2 miles away. Note, we also arrived 1.5 hours before tipoff. So that put a damper on things, again attending with a 4 year old. (Too young to walk that far, way too heavy to carry that far)
- I only saw 2 sets of bathrooms. The set that was near our section was PACKED, so my son and I walked halfway around the arena to find another one and found one exactly halfway from the section we were sitting in. Nobody in line. In/Out in 2 minutes. But there needs to be more bathrooms for an arena that seats 21k+. And to be fair, maybe there were more, we just didn't come across any but those two.
Neutral:
- Student section was behind opponent's first half basket and were hyped the whole game. It was refreshing to see a student section that was loud and energetic for 2 hours.
- There were VERY few UK fans there. I know it was a mid week 9pm game, but I really expected a lot more of them. Probably 5% big blueians. I'm not sure how they managed that or if it was due to the timing of the game, but thought it was worth mentioning.
Thats all I can think of for now, but if you need me to draw up blueprints for the new Joel, just let me know :wiggle: