What's new at Neyland Stadium for Tennessee football games, including sound system

Neyland Stadium will feature a new sound system, widened concourse and Champions Corner plaza among other enhancements for Tennessee football games in the 2026 season.

UT announced the upgrades in a school release on Aug. 28. The 18th-ranked Vols will play Furman on Sept. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+/SEC Network+) to open the season.

"Year after year, we will continue to give Vol Nation the best in-venue college football experience in the country,” said Alicia Longworth, UT deputy athletics director/chief marketing officer. "We appreciate Pilot’s partnership in helping us make that a reality. From a new sound system to our new Champions Corner that honors our winning tradition, we are excited for our fans to experience these new elements at Neyland Stadium this fall.”

UT already announced a growing list of concessions at Neyland Stadium and an updated traffic flow and parking plan fans need to know. Here's a quick rundown of the new gameday features.

Neyland Stadium has new sound system

Neyland Stadium will feature a new "elite, modern sound system," the UT release said, provided by Danley Sound Labs, Stellar Vision and Sound and Precision Audio. Danley Labs modernized sound systems at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

Speaker stacks in the south end of Neyland Stadium were completely replaced with hundreds of individual drivers throughout larger boxes, working as a single source. Dozens of amplifiers and over a half a million watts of power will work together to blanket the stadium under the south overhang and the north side of the east and west skyboxes.

A total of 15 subwoofers, 11 large, full-range loud speakers and 27 compact outdoor loud speakers were installed to compliment the new under balcony speakers that were updated prior to the 2024 season. There were previously no subwoofers.Beyond raw power, the technology provides exceptional sound clarity. Fans from the lower bowl to the upper deck will hear PA announcements, music, the referee's announcements and in-game audio crisply, not just loudly.

Widened southeast concourse, more concessions

The concourse has been widened on the third level of the south end zone, specifically in the southeast corner adjacent to the elevators. New concessions walk-through markets, similar to those on the north end of the stadium, will be installed prior to the Kennesaw State game on Sept. 19.

An outdated restroom has been removed, and 12 new fixtures have been added. Eight new water bottle filler fountains have been installed on the third level of the stadium. And additional televisions have been added to the third level.

Gen. Robert Neyland statue returns in Champions Corner

The new Champions Corner will serve as a centerpiece to the plaza outside Gate 9 on the southwest side of Neyland Stadium. Three national championship coaches — Gen. Robert Neyland, Doug Dickey and Phillip Fulmer — will be featured there.

The Neyland statue has returned to the stadium that bears the coach's name. In 2010, a statue was dedicated to Gen. Neyland on the west side of the stadium. It was temporarily moved to the north end of the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center to protect it during stadium renovations. The Neyland statue has now moved to its permanent home beside Neyland Stadium.

Statues recognizing Dickey and Fulmer will be unveiled later this season.

The plaza features restrooms and new entry points. It will continue to host Truly’s Tailgate and "Volunteer Gameday," a one-hour TV show featuring “Voice of the Vols” Mike Keith, former UT quarterback Heath Shuler and WVLT's Brittany Tarwater on the Tennessee Valley Sports Network (TVSN).

Yellow line marking down first downs on videoboard

Fans will notice a new feature on the videoboard, which will debut by the Kennesaw State game. A first-and-10 yellow line will be utilized on game action on the videoboards, giving fans an accurate picture of the down and distance during drives. 

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What's new at Neyland Stadium for Tennessee football games, including sound system