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 The stadium during a Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee game in 2016 | |
  FirstBank Stadium Location in Nashville Show map of Nashville FirstBank Stadium Location in Tennessee Show map of Tennessee FirstBank Stadium Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Former names | Dudley Field (1922–1981) Vanderbilt Stadium (1981–2022) |
|---|---|
| Location | Jess Neely Drive,Nashville, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 36°8′39″N86°48′32″W / 36.14417°N 86.80889°W /36.14417; -86.80889 |
| Owner | Vanderbilt University |
| Operator | Vanderbilt University |
| Capacity | 35,000 |
| Surface | Grass (1922–1969, 1999–2011) AstroTurf (1970–1998) Artificial (Shaw Sports Legion 46; 2012–present) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1922 |
| Opened | October 14, 1922; 103 years ago (1922-10-14) (rebuilt 1981) |
| Construction cost | $1.5 million ($28.2 million in 2024 dollars[1]) $10.1 million (1981 reconstruction) ($34.9 million in 2024 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Walk Jones and Francis Man, Inc.[2] Michael Baker, Jr. Corp.[2] |
| General contractor | Foster & Creighton[2] |
| Tenants | |
| Vanderbilt Commodores (NCAA) (1922–present) NCAA Division I Football Championship (NCAA) (2026-future) Tennessee Oilers (NFL) (1998) Music City Bowl (NCAA) (1998) Nashville FC (NPSL) (2014–2016) Tennessee State Tigers (NCAA) (1971, 1973-1994,1996) | |
| Website | |
| vucommodores.com/firstbank-stadium | |
FirstBank Stadium (formerlyDudley Field andVanderbilt Stadium) is afootball stadium located inNashville, Tennessee. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in theSouth to be used exclusively for college football, it is the home of theVanderbilt University football team.[3] When the venue was known as Vanderbilt Stadium, it hosted theTennessee Oilers (now Titans) during the1998 NFL season and the firstMusic City Bowl in1998 and also hosted the Tennessee state high school football championships for many years.
FirstBank Stadium is the smallest football stadium in theSoutheastern Conference and was the largest stadium in Nashville until the completion of the Titans'Nissan Stadium in 1999. After its 2022-2025 renovation, the stadium's capacity became 35,000, down from the previous 40,350.[4]
Vanderbilt football began in 1892, and for 30 years, Commodore football teams played on the northeast corner of campus where Wilson Hall, KissamQuadrangle, and a portion of the Vanderbilt University Law School now stand, adjacent to today's 21st Avenue South.[5]
The first facility was named forWilliam Dudley,Dean of theVanderbilt University Medical School from 1885 until his death in 1914. Dudley was responsible for the formation of theSIAA, the predecessor of theSouthern Conference andSoutheastern Conference, in 1895, and was also instrumental in the formation of theNCAA in 1906.[3]
In 1922, after a 74.2 winning percentage during the 18-year tenure of Coach McGugin, the Commodores had outgrown old Dudley Field.[3] The old field was re-christenedCurry Field, in honor ofIrby "Rabbit" Curry, a standout football player from 1914 to 1916, who left Vanderbilt to serve in theAmerican Expeditionary Force to Europe in World War I and was killed while flying a combat mission over France in 1918. The football team played two games on the renamed Curry Field before moving to New Dudley Field in 1922.
There was not enough room to expand old Dudley Field at its site near Kirkland Hall, so Vanderbilt administrators purchased land adjacent to what is today 25th Avenue South, on the west side of campus, for the new facility.[3] The new stadium, the first in the South built solely for football, was christened "Dudley Field", and its capacity was 20,000. As evidence of Vanderbilt's stature in the sport at the time, it dwarfed rival Tennessee's Shields-Watkins Field (nowNeyland Stadium), which had opened a year earlier and seated only 3,200.
The first game played at new Dudley Field was on October 14, 1922 between the Commodores and the powerfulMichigan Wolverines. A goal line stand by the Commodores preserved a 0–0 tie.[3] The following Friday, nearbyHume-Fogg High School played a game at the stadium. SeniorJimmy Armistead returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, the first touchdown ever recorded at the stadium. Armistead went on to a successful career at Vanderbilt. He was the captain and startingquarterback for the1928 team.
In 1949, Vanderbilt officials built a modern press box at Dudley Field, replacing a platform that had been used prior to that.[6] Additional seating was also added to the west side of stadium, boosting capacity to 27,901.[6]
On September 25, 1954, Vanderbilt hosted the No. 10-rankedBaylor Bears in the first night game ever played on the Dudley Field surface. Lights were installed so that Dudley Field could host aBilly Graham Crusade on campus.[6]
In 1960, nearly 7,000 more seats were added to the stadium, with an expansion on the east side of the stadium near Memorial Gym. Capacity jumped to 34,000.[6]
At a price of $250,000 (equal to $2,024,207 today), officials installed what was then a state-of-the-art AstroTurf synthetic surface in 1970.[6]
Over the winter and spring of 1980–81, most of the Dudley Field grandstand was demolished. The 12,088 seats on each sideline—the only vestige of the old stadium—were raised ten feet through the use of 22 hydraulic jacks on each side of the stadium. The "new" venue was rechristened Vanderbilt Stadium. However, the playing surface itself is still called Dudley Field.
The rebuilt stadium and its Fred Russell Press Box (named for Vanderbilt alumnus, former football player, and sports journalistFred Russell) were designed to resemble a United States naval vessel slicing through the water—a nod to Vanderbilt's naval themed-mascot, the Commodore. Accordingly, the color scheme picked for the exterior of the stadium was battleship gray.[citation needed]
The stadium's maximum capacity after the 1980–81 renovation was 41,000, consisting of a single-decked horseshoe grandstand filled in with wooden bleachers from the 1960 expansion. The project cost $10.1 million, and the Commodores celebrated a sold-out dedication by taking a 23–17 comeback win overMaryland on September 12, 1981.
To enhance the gameday experience, officials increased capacity to 41,448 and added aJumbotron video screen in the north end zone, adjacent to Kensington Place, in advance of theTennessee Oilers playing their 1998 home games in the facility.[citation needed]
After the Oilers—now the Titans—left in 1999, the playing surface was returned to grass. In 2002 and 2003, the school removed the aging bleachers from the 1960 renovation from the north end zone, lowering capacity to 41,221 in 2002 and to 39,773 in 2003.[citation needed] The bleachers from the north end zone were replaced with a visitors' concourse that affords any fan in the stadium a field-level, up-close experience with the playing surface. The metal frames for the bleachers were relocated to Mt. Juliet Christian School's football facility in suburban Nashville.
After nearbyHawkins Field, Vanderbilt's baseball stadium, was constructed in a classic brick-and-iron style in 2002, Vanderbilt administrators began to look at giving Vanderbilt Stadium a similar flavor. They also began to consider the construction of a football facility in place of the present concourse and JumboTron in the north end zone.[7]
On July 24, 2007, Vanderbilt officials announced they were in the preliminary stages of a stadium renovation plan, with financing, design concept, and date of completion yet to be determined.[7]
Nine months later, on May 20, 2008, Vice Chancellor David Williams II announced, in a McGugin Center press conference, that the university was beginning a five-phased, multimillion-dollar program of renovations to Vanderbilt athletics facilities, including extensive renovations and additions to Vanderbilt Stadium.[7]
Under the plan announced by Williams, Vanderbilt Stadium was modified (in the first four phases) as follows:
| Phase | Date completed | Estimated cost | Renovation and construction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
I | August 2008 | $12 million | Brick-and-iron fences, new ticketing facility, renovation of east concourse, new paint scheme throughout interior, exterior of stadium painted gold, "VANDERBILT" and Star-V logos added to exterior of press box | |
II | August 2009 | $12 million | Renovation of west concourse, brick-and-iron fences added to west concourse, addition of brick to exterior of Natchez Trace (west) façade of stadium, construction of new entry plazas at Gates 2 and 3 on Jess Neely Drive | |
III | August 2010 | $8 million | Renovation of north concourse, brick-and-iron fences added to north concourse, completion of bricking of exterior of entire stadium, construction of new entry plazas at Gates 1 and 4 on Kensington Avenue | |
IV | August 2011 | $18 million | Construction of additional seating, football offices, locker rooms, recruiting facilities, hospitality facilities, and indoor/outdoor luxury suites in north endzone, with relocation of JumboTron, addition of high-quality synthetic playing surface on Dudley Field | |
| Source: Vanderbilt Athletics Facility Upgrade Central | ||||
On February 6, 2012, Williams announced Vanderbilt would be adding newFieldTurf and a newJumboTron. A large berm was constructed in the open end of FirstBank Stadium as a place for fans to watch games starting fall 2012. The project, in addition to other renovations, began after the Black & Gold scrimmage on April 14, 2012.
With only 500 seats available, the hillside was a first-come, first-served area in terms of picking a spot to sit. The berm did not reach the permanent seating on the sidelines to leave space in the corners of the end zone for fans to enter.
The fourth major project set for the stadium was improved lighting. Renovations were also completed at McGugin Center, with new meeting rooms and Olympic sport locker rooms built. The work was completed in the summer of 2014.
Since the 2007 season, midshipmen of the VanderbiltNaval ROTC sound a foghorn, nicknamed "The Admiral", whenever the Commodores take the field, as well as after every score and win. It is also sounded at intervals prior to the scheduled kickoff to encourage fans to go ahead and enter the stadium. After wins the Commodores raise a victory flag sporting the "Star V" emblem.
On August 29, 2022, Vanderbilt announced a ten-year naming rights deal with Nashville-based FirstBank for the football team's stadium.[8][9]
On October 5, 2024, FirstBank Stadium hosted unranked Vanderbilt’s stunning 40-35 upset over the top-rankedUniversity of Alabama Crimson Tide.[10] It was Vanderbilt’s first victory over the college football powerhouse since 1984 and its first win in Nashville since 1969.[11][10] Additionally, it marked Vanderbilt’s first-ever victory against a Top 5 opponent.[12]
Vanderbilt students in celebration tore down the Southend zonegoalpost, and carried it approximately 2.5 miles through downtown Nashville before throwing it into theCumberland River.[13][14]
Tennessee State utilized FirstBank Stadium as a prominent venue for major games, hosting at least one game annually in1971, from1973 to1994, and again in1996. On September 15, 2018, while Vanderbilt was away playingNotre Dame, theVirginia Cavaliers played theOhio Bobcats in FirstBank Stadium. The game was relocated fromCharlottesville, Virginia due to the threat ofHurricane Florence.[15]
For at least 2026 and 2027, theNCAA Division I Football Championship game will be played at FirstBank Stadium due to renovations atToyota Stadium inFrisco, Texas.[16]
Upon moving to Nashville, the Oilers/Titans franchise initially played at the largerLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium inMemphis whileNissan Stadium (then called Adelphia Coliseum) was under construction in Nashville. Initially, the Oilers were unwilling to play at Vanderbilt Stadium while Nissan Stadium was being built. Not only was it thought to be too small even for temporary use, but university officials were unwilling to allow the sale of alcohol.
However, dismal attendance during the1997 season, due in part to both the unwillingness of many Nashville fans to make the trip to Memphis and Memphis fans' indifference to a temporary team after years of failing to secure their own NFL franchise, led the Oilers to play their last season under that name in Nashville at Vanderbilt Stadium, although the university forbade the franchise from selling alcohol at home games.[17]
Vanderbilt Stadium thus became the smallest home venue in the NFL since several similar-size stadiums were used in1970. (The merger agreement with theAmerican Football League led the NFL to declare stadiums seating fewer than 50,000, such asFenway Park, to be inadequate for league play and after the 1970 NFL season none were used for NFL games on a long-term basis.) TheLos Angeles Chargers used a smaller venue, the 27,000-seatDignity Health Sports Park inCarson, California, as their home for the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20 NFL seasons whileSoFi Stadium was being built for the Chargers and theLos Angeles Rams, who were playing in the far largerLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum inSouth Los Angeles.
Over its history, Vanderbilt Stadium has occasionally been used for concerts and major speakers.[18]
| Date | Artist | Opening act(s) | Tour / Concert name | Attendance | Revenue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 1994 | Pink Floyd | — | The Division Bell Tour | 41,169 / 41,169 | $1,348,505 | |
| October 26, 1997 | The Rolling Stones | Sheryl Crow | Bridges to Babylon Tour | 45,193 / 45,193 | $2,551,578 | |
| April 25, 2009 | Dave Matthews Band | Robert Earl Keen Jason Mraz | — | — | — | [19] |
| July 2, 2011 | U2 | Florence and the Machine | U2 360° Tour | 46,857 / 46,857 | $4,269,125 | |
| July 11, 2015 | Luke Bryan | Florida Georgia Line Randy Houser Thomas Rhett Dustin Lynch DJ Rock | Kick the Dust Up Tour | 31,907 / 31,907 | $2,705,682 | |
| August 23, 2018 | Beyoncé Jay-Z | Chloe X Halle andDJ Khaled | On the Run II Tour | 35,353 / 35,353 | $4,058,910[20] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| Preceded by | Home of the Tennessee Oilers 1998 | Succeeded by |
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