Home Newsfeed What it Takes to Get Game Day Ready During a Stadium Renovation What it Takes to Get Game Day Ready During a Stadium Renovation How two of Tennessee’s Division 1 college football programs rebuilt without missing a kickoff. Renovating a college football stadium is hard enough. Renovating an active venue without ever missing a kickoff is a next-level challenge. Over the past several years, Barton Malow took on this challenge with FirstBank Stadium at Vanderbilt University and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium at the University of Memphis . Both stadiums were multi-year projects that required staying open for home football games throughout construction. Barton Malow has delivered hundreds of sports projects over more than 100 years, and we’ve never missed an opening day, kickoff, tip, or puck drop. These two projects were no exception. Read on for an inside look at how these major multi-year renovations came to life: The Schedule Doesn’t Move, So the Work Has To A university’s football schedule is set years in advance and does not bend for construction. That reality shapes every decision on a live stadium renovation, starting with sequencing. At Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the team phased the work to make it more manageable during the season. Phase One focused on relocating media and gameday operations to the East Side. This included constructing a new press box, upgrading lighting, and completing finish work, all before the Tigers’ 2024 home opener. An in-progress look at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium from spring 2026. Phase Two involved demolishing the West Side Tower and constructing a new suite tower with premium seating. It was completed on time, ahead of the 2026 season and the September 5 opener against Arkansas State. At FirstBank Stadium, the approach followed the same logic in a different order. The North End Zone and the Huber Center basketball practice facility came first, completing in December 2024 during the off-season window. The South End Zone, a multi-floor expansion of more than 130,000 SF that included new gameday locker rooms, an upgraded video board and acoustics system, and a reworked concourse, was timed to open before the 2025 home opener on August 30. Neither team had the luxury of a full off-season to do everything at once. Both teams broke the scope into pieces that fit the schedule, then built backward from opening day. Coordination Extends Beyond the Stadium Walls A stadium doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and neither does the work required to transform it. At FirstBank Stadium, construction on the South End Zone unfolded just steps from Hawkins Field, Vanderbilt’s baseball home. With both venues active, project teams had to continuously adapt fan entry points, pedestrian pathways, and site logistics to accommodate baseball games within the same footprint, during the same season, and alongside ongoing construction. That’s the reality of gameday readiness that rarely makes the highlight reel. Success isn’t measured only by concrete placed or steel erected, but by the ability to keep thousands of fans, student-athletes, media personnel, and event staff moving safely and efficiently through an active construction zone without disrupting the game-day experience. Achieving that balance required constant coordination with Vanderbilt Athletics operations, ensuring every access point, route adjustment, and safety measure aligned with the demands of a live venue. The challenge intensified as both facilities remained operational throughout two football seasons. Each week involved a carefully orchestrated game plan. By Thursday, crews began transitioning from construction mode to gameday mode, securing work areas, installing protective barriers, clearing pedestrian routes, and deploying wayfinding measures across the site. The goal was simple: when fans arrived on Saturday, the focus stayed on football, not construction. Delivering that seamless experience required disciplined planning, clear communication, and a shared commitment to keeping the venue safe, accessible, and ready for kickoff every single week. Premium Experience, Delivered in Pieces Both projects also had to solve for a market shift in college athletics: fans expect more than a seat and a scoreboard. Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium’s Phase Two added hospitality suites, loge boxes, and standing drink rail areas. FirstBank Stadium’s South End Zone introduced living room boxes, club seating, field-level seating, and founders’ suites. FirstBank Stadium’s new South End Zone. Delivering that kind of premium space in phases, rather than all at once, means each phase must stand on its own. Fans walking into a partially renovated stadium shouldn’t be able to tell which sections were finished last month and which were finished two years ago. That consistency comes down to constructability, our construction planning, and sequencing, ensuring every phase delivers the same quality. Across Tennessee, athletics programs are investing in facilities to win recruits, keep athletes, and grow revenue. Those projects only pay off if they’re finished on time, with no lost seasons and no empty seats. That’s the commitment Barton Malow brings to every project. About the Author: Chris Masters is Senior Office Director of Barton Malow’s Nashville office, where he leads operations across Tennessee. A Central Tennessee native with nearly three decades of construction experience, he’s known for a humble, team-first approach and building strong client relationships. How do you renovate a college football stadium without missing a kickoff? You build backward from opening day. A university’s football schedule is set years in advance and does not bend for construction, so the work is broken into phases that fit the calendar. At FirstBank Stadium at Vanderbilt University and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium at the University of Memphis, Barton Malow stayed open for home games throughout multi-year projects, continuing a record of never missing an opening day, kickoff, tip, or puck drop in more than 100 years. How was the work phased at FirstBank Stadium and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium? At Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Phase One moved media and gameday operations to the East Side, with a new press box and upgraded lighting finished before the 2024 home opener. Phase Two demolished the West Side Tower and built a new suite tower with premium seating, ready for the September 5 opener against Arkansas State. At FirstBank Stadium, the North End Zone and the Huber Center basketball practice facility finished in December 2024, and the South End Zone, an expansion of more than 130,000 SF, opened before the August 30, 2025 home opener. How do crews keep fans safe and moving on gameday around an active construction site? Each week runs on two game plans. By Thursday, crews shift from construction mode to gameday mode by securing work areas, installing protective barriers, clearing pedestrian routes, and deploying wayfinding. At FirstBank Stadium, the team also adapted fan entry points and site logistics around Hawkins Field, Vanderbilt’s baseball home, while both venues stayed active. Constant coordination with Vanderbilt Athletics operations keeps every access point and safety measure aligned with a live venue. What premium experiences did these renovations add, and how do phased projects stay consistent? Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium gained hospitality suites, loge boxes, and standing drink rail areas, while FirstBank Stadium’s South End Zone added living room boxes, club seating, field-level seating, and founders’ suites. Because these spaces are delivered in phases, each phase has to stand on its own. Careful constructability, construction planning, and sequencing mean fans can’t tell which sections were finished last month and which were finished two years ago. Why are Tennessee athletics programs investing in stadium upgrades, and what does Barton Malow bring? Programs across Tennessee are investing in facilities to win recruits, keep athletes, and grow revenue. Those investments only pay off if projects finish on time, with no lost seasons and no empty seats. Barton Malow has delivered hundreds of sports projects, and that commitment to schedule, quality, and gameday readiness comes to every project we build. 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