KNOXVILLE -- The University of Tennessee announced plans Thursday for a new Game Day RV Park. The RV park will be located adjacent to the Regal Soccer Stadium and Lee Softball Field off Neyland Drive.
"Enjoying Tennessee football and tailgating in a recreational vehicle has been a tremendous part of Volunteer tradition," said John Currie, senior associate athletics director. "Over the years, we have had a lot of requests from RV parkers to offer an area with hook-ups and other amenities. This new area will allow RV owners the opportunity to have modern amenities while in town for the games."
The parking area will consist of 140,000 square feet of paved surface that will accommodate 50 RV parking spaces with water and electricity hook-ups at each site and a centralized sanitary off-load station. In addition, the area will feature a game day train shuttle transporting RV donors to Lake Loudoun Boulevard.
"All funding for the project will come from the donors who are using the spaces," said Jeff Maples, senior associate vice chancellor.
No university funds will be used to develop this area. Estimated costs for the park, including grading, paving and hook-ups, total over $600,000. To cover the cost, each space will be sold for a commitment of $15,000 to the project, payable over a five-year period. The university will use short-term paper bonds financed through the TSSBA payable over five years to cover the upfront construction costs.
RV parkers will also pay an additional $250 annual maintenance fee to cover operational and maintenance costs. Parking space priority is for a 20-year period. Spaces will be assigned in priority order.
In order to have the new area ready by the Sept. 2 home opener against California, UT must have enough deposits to be able to proceed with the project by May 1. Anyone interested in the program should contact the VASF office at (865) 974-1218 or the University Alumni benefits office at (865) 974-3011.
Along with the addition of the new Game Day RV Park, the university has made other changes to RV parking areas on campus. For safety, security and liability reasons, beginning with the 2006 football season, the "C3" parking area at the corner of Neyland Drive and Lake Loudoun Boulevard will no longer be available for RV parking. Standard RV parking for donors qualifying to purchase a parking pass through the VASF or UTNAA will continue be offered at the Agriculture Campus, which features a flat surface lot and a shuttle to the stadium beginning three hours before each game.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)