KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee fans are encouraged to arrive early for Saturday’s football season opener against UT Martin. And not just to beat the traffic.

On what is forecast to be a picture perfect September evening, the “oohs” and “aahs” will be flowing across Phillip Fulmer Way and down Peyton Manning Pass as the most recent renovations to Neyland Stadium are viewed for the first time by 100,000 fans.

David Elliott, UT’s assistant athletics director for event management, says everyone should prepare to be amazed.

“It has that ‘wow’ effect for people coming to campus. I’m fortunate enough to travel with our football team everywhere we go, and this stadium is second to none both inside and out right now.”

Most noticeable from the outside are the approximately 700,000 bricks laid since December that totally transformed the look of the stadium’s north and west sides. Standing in the middle of that transformation is the majestic Gate 21 plaza area.

“Gate 21 is the focal point of the stadium,” Elliott says. “It’s our marquee entrance. Gate 21 typically has brought in 30,000 to 35,000 people on a game-by-game basis. It is a stunning, stunning entrance.”

Six lofty archways dominate the entrance, which doubles during the work week as a key campus transportation hub. No doubt the traffic on game days is just as hectic.

“Gate 21 is where the Vol Walk ends; it’s where the team comes into the stadium. It’s where the band marches into the stadium. All those large groups come here, so we’ve made this a nice plaza area. Instead of having all the chain-link look, it now has the wrought-iron fencing and the beautiful brick work and archways.

“We also have the aesthetics outside the stadium as well, with the brick pavers, trees and lamps. It’s just a brand new look to the whole stadium and we hope people take time to see it.”

Adjacent to the Gate 21 plaza is another change, the new amphitheater at the corner of Phillip Fulmer Way and Andy Holt Avenue. The Vol Network’s Kickoff Call-In Show takes place there, sporting spiffy new digs after spending years on a make-shift platform in front of a worn down hillside.

“It’s also a good viewing point for when we do the Vol Walk and the band’s march to the stadium,” Elliott said. “It’s a lot more aesthetically pleasing. It’s easier for our fans to get in and out -- we actually have stairs to climb up the hill -- with a much more plush seating area. They can sit on the concrete pad or right on the grass.

“This area also will be used for special events throughout the year, so people on campus -- fraternities, sororities, special-event groups -- we can make this available for them as well during the course of the week.”

Just inside Gate 21, the Tennessee Official Team Shop is open for business six days a week under management of the UT Bookstore. Four other souvenir locations are located throughout the stadium, including one in an exclusive new seating area.

The Tennessee Terrace now occupies the west upper deck, with 1,800 individual chair-back seats and a climate-controlled concourse featuring new restroom and concession areas. All of the stadium’s high-end concessions are available to Tennessee Terrace patrons, and those individuals also have the added bonus of sitting on the home sideline after the Vols switched back to the west for the first time since 1992.

“They can watch the team coming in on the Vol Walk and then be on the home sideline rooting them on throughout the course of the game.”

Graphics were upgraded throughout the west-side renovation areas, including both elevator lobbies and certainly in the Tennessee Terrace, which can be seen from street-level and are especially dynamic at night.

“It’s really pretty amazing the graphics that have gone in,” Elliott says. “Again, it’s second to none. You won’t find this in very many stadiums and we are very proud of the look we have at Neyland Stadium.”

One of the most impressive additions is not yet in place: a twice life-size statue of Gen. Robert R. Neyland that will go between gates 16 and 17. The statue is being created by Blair Buswell, who has sculpted busts for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is scheduled to arrive later this season.

The historic Neyland Stadium Master Plan renovations have been funded entirely by private donations to the project and have not created a financial burden for the university or the state’s tax payers. The funding includes leadership gifts to the project and capital and annual contributions associated with the East Club, West Club and Tennessee Terrace seating areas. To date, the university has spent approximately $125 million on the first three phases of the project.

Through the capital and annual donations associated with their seats, donors sitting in Tennessee Terrace have provided approximately $42 million in funding for the Master Plan renovations.

Future phases of the Master Plan renovations will be completed based on available funding.

Plans call for stadium renovations to take a break over the next two years and resume in December 2012. That should allow for a more normal maintenance schedule, including structural painting projects on the stadium’s exterior that are first in line for 2011.

Design work throughout the entire Master Plan renovations has been by McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects/Ross Bryan Associates. Contractor for this portion of the project was Blaine Construction.

“We’re very proud of all the construction we have had in the stadium,” Elliott says. “The design team, the contractor and everybody have been a pleasure to work with and they have done a fantastic job putting it together and on time, so we can be ready to play football this first weekend.

“We’re getting our stadium upgraded from 1921 to 2010, and it has a beautiful look to it.”

Just don’t forget there’s a football game to be played. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)