Vanderbilt reveals first phase of 'Vandy United' upgrades
Vanderbilt on Tuesday unveiled the first phase of facility upgrades and construction projects included in its “Vandy United” fund, a $300 million fundraising campaign — the largest athletics renovation project in school history — announced in March by athletics director Candice Storey Lee and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.
“We continue to be excited about the transformation of Vanderbilt Athletics,” Lee said in the university’s press release. “Commodore Nation’s response to Vandy United has been nothing short of overwhelming. There is much work that remains, but it’s great to see our future begin to take shape.”
Vanderbilt is working with architectural firm Populous to design the renovations.
“Today’s press release was meant to provide additional color,” Lee said in a subsequent press conference.
The construction is largely taking place in or around Vanderbilt Stadium, as the majority of Vanderbilt’s athletic facilities are located near West End.
The first phase of construction will focus on an indoor football practice field, parallel to the outdoor practice field; a football operations building adjacent to the new indoor facility, utilized to “house team-specific needs for football”; a facility in the south end zone, focusing on “fan amenities” and a new dining hall for student-athletes; and a new basketball operations center housed in the north end zone.
In the press release, Vanderbilt also specified new areas of development. Expansion of the Currey Tennis Center, upgrades to the track and field complex and potential baseball enhancements were not included in Vanderbilt’s March announcement but added in Tuesday’s press release. Though the first two will be included, the release says baseball changes aren’t guaranteed; instead, the university “has asked Populous to explore options” as it pertains to baseball facilities upgrades.
Football and basketball operations center on its way
Lee said in March that construction on the football and basketball operations center should begin after the conclusion of the 2021 football season. She confirmed that timeline Tuesday.
“The other thing we said in March is that we would begin construction following the football season. All of that remains true,” Lee said. “What you see today is what I hope feels like a significant investment into our fans. We’re going to always invest in our student athletes, because the infrastructure is needed across the board there to put them in position to win, and to do it consistently.
“It is important to me that people understand that we’ve got the big projects that we’re calling Vandy United; that’s what the aerial map is, and that’s what the press release is about,” Lee said. “But we’re also consistently improving things. … I want our fans to walk into the football stadium on September 4 and see some investments that we’ve made. The same will be true when our fans walk into Memorial for the first time.”