Vanderbilt football, MLS share off-campus stadium? Commodore fans say no way

Vanderbilt fans don’t want to share a new off-campus football stadium with a potential Major League Soccer expansion franchise.

That sentiment was repeated loudly by any Commodore fan willing to speak on the hot topic at Saturday’s Dore Jam, the annual Vanderbilt football fan event.

"College football is meant to be played on campus,” said fan Chris Gleason. “And you can’t tell me that it would be the same off campus. No one here actually believes that.”

Nashville is one of 12 cities vying for four MLS expansion franchises. If an MLS club comes to Music City, Vanderbilt is exploring the possibility of sharing a new stadium with the soccer team for its home football games at the Metro-owned Fairgrounds Nashville. The first two expansion cities will be chosen by the league’s board of directors as early as December.

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The potential partnership is led by Nashville businessman John Ingram, who is the lead investor in the MLS proposal and the primary Vanderbilt athletics benefactor. Ingram has  declined comment to The Tennessean when asked about a potential MLS-Vanderbilt partnership for a new stadium.

While standing in line for autographs of Vanderbilt coaches and players, fans said they feel uneasy about the prospect of moving home games off campus. The Commodores have played at the current site of Vanderbilt Stadium since 1922, but the facility has not undergone a major renovation since 1981.

“We love Vanderbilt, always have,” said Beverly McManimie, one of six generations in her family over 65 years to attend Vanderbilt football games. “I am definitely a yes to staying on campus and a no to going off campus.”

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Fans proclaim #SaveDudley

Longtime Vanderbilt fans Laurie Alsentzer and Jan Matlock didn’t have to voice their opinion. It was printed in white letters across their black T-shirts, which said “#SaveDudley,” referring to Dudley Field inside Vanderbilt Stadium.

“I would probably not even go if (Vanderbilt home games) move off campus,” said Matlock, who has attended games for 46 years. “It wouldn’t feel like home anymore.”

Two hours of casual conversations at Dore Jam did not yield a single Vanderbilt fan in favor of moving home games off campus, even if it meant playing in a new state-of-the-art stadium costing between $175 million and $250 million.

“It will ruin the gameday atmosphere. It will ruin tailgating,” said Alsentzer, a Vanderbilt alumnus. “We will not have control over our own stadium, and the students won’t come. They wouldn’t come to watch basketball games at Bridgestone Arena. You think they’re going to go to the Fairgrounds?”

So what’s the alternative?

Most Commodore fans said they hope Nashville lands an MLS franchise, but they want a shared stadium on Vanderbilt’s campus.

“I actually like the joint football-soccer stadium idea, but we’ve got to have it on campus,” fan Charlie Young said. “Now will people quit going to games if they go off campus? No.
People will be upset. There will be some belly-aching. But people will still come to games.”

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Asked if they oppose an off-campus stadium plan, Vanderbilt fans were unanimous. But most also conceded that they would begrudgingly attend games no matter where they were played.

“I am opposed to any off-campus stadium. I am opposed to sharing an off-campus stadium,” fan Phillip Cox said. “But I am a fan, and I will always be a fan. If that’s the direction they’re going, I’m not going to miss the football team because of that.

“It drives me crazy to even hear people say that they’d quit going to games. Those aren’t true fans in my opinion.”

Joey Garrison contributed to this report. Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

Vanderbilt Stadium timeline

1892: Old Dudley Field (later Curry Field) first used as home field.

1922: New Dudley Field dedicated as first stadium in South used exclusively for college football.

1949: New press box and seats added to west side for capacity of 27,901.

1960: Additional seats on east side expands capacity to 34,000.

1970: AstroTurf installed for $250,000.

1981: Major renovation/new construction yields Vanderbilt Stadium.

1998: JumboTron video screen installed as Tennessee Oilers play home games there.

2002: Dudley Field natural grass surface renovated after upgrades in 1999.

2003: North end zone bleacher section removed.

2009: Gates 2 & 3 renovated.

2011: New natural grass playing surface installed.

2012: New artificial turf, video board and berm seating in north end zone added.

Source: Vanderbilt (vucommodores.com)