After weeks of silence, Vanderbilt University says it will try to raise funds for football stadium

Adam Sparks | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Vanderbilt Stadium stuck in the past Vanderbilt Stadium hasn't undergone a major renovation since 1981 while other SEC stadiums keep getting better.

Vanderbilt University administration broke its silence about a lack of progress in renovating its football stadium, saying in a statement that it will put forth “efforts to raise funds” for athletic facilities, including the football stadium.

The statement was released on Vanderbilt’s website Friday. It was not attributed to a person or group. Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos has declined comment numerous times about the football stadium over the past three weeks.

On Thursday, The Tennessean made interview requests to Vanderbilt Board of Trust members about the football stadium through their places of work. The Board of Trust includes American Airlines CEO W. Douglas Parker Jr., Cox Enterprises CEO Alexander C. Taylor, Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf, billionaires Ross Perot Jr. and John R. Ingram, former Facebook Vice President Jeffrey J. Rothschild, NFL Senior Vice President of Labor Policy Adolpho Birch III, Ithaca College President Shirley M. Collado and others.

After listing Vanderbilt athletes' accomplishments in athletics and academics, the university statement said:

"All of this achievement is supported by a loyal and dedicated fan base that is critical to our overall success. We will continue to invest in our student athletes and as we contemplate a capital campaign for the university, athletics will be a significant part and will include efforts to raise funds for improvements to athletics programs and facilities, including the football stadium."

Vanderbilt statement makes no promises

The statement did not specify improvements to any athletics facilities. In an Aug. 2 report, athletics director David Williams said Vanderbilt already was in the “planning stage” of a renovation to Memorial Gym, a project that may occur before any football stadium project.

The statement referenced the possibility of including athletics facilities in a capital campaign. Vanderbilt is amid a $600 million capital project, which includes no athletics facilities. Instead, it will change the face of the West End Avenue side of campus with the construction of residential dorms, classrooms and a student center.

Vanderbilt’s football stadium has not undergone a major renovation since a 1981 project that cost $10.1 million. Since then, every other SEC stadium has been renovated multiple times, including at least one face-lift in the past 12 years.

In the Aug. 2 report, multiple sources told The Tennessean university administrators undercut efforts to raise funds for a stadium project to focus on building other campus structures. Athletics fundraisers were prohibited from soliciting certain donors already targeted by university fundraisers.

A Vanderbilt spokesman declined to comment on that accusation, and a request to interview Zeppos for that story was declined.

The National Commodore Club, the primary fundraiser for Vanderbilt athletics, has moved from McGugin Center to the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza in the development and alumni relations office, the headquarters for fundraising for non-athletics campus projects.

Vanderbilt is the only SEC school with its primary athletics fundraiser office not located in either an athletics department building or a freestanding building in the athletics area of campus.

Take a video tour of Vanderbilt Stadium

Quick tour of Vanderbilt Stadium Vanderbilt Stadium has undergone numerous renovations since it was first built at current site in 1922. Most of current structure built was in 1981.

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Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.