re: Who will be the next SEC program to build a brand new football stadium?

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What's Vandy gonna do? They don't have the fanbase to demand a new stadium.

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“Even before I took over (as AD in 2003), people were saying, ‘Stadium, stadium, stadium’ because everybody was building stadiums,” Williams said.

Williams said he wants to build a new stadium in the next three or four years, but that depends on the speed of fundraising.

Paying a premium price could get the facility built during one offseason, but the likely scenario would require Vanderbilt to play one season at another home field — probably the Titans’ Nissan Stadium.

A new stadium probably would cost between $60 million and $90 million, or perhaps more depending on amenities and several other factors, Williams said. He wants a new stadium to be better but not necessarily bigger.

Vanderbilt Stadium has a capacity of 40,550, and a new facility would have a similar amount of seating. In the previous five seasons (2011-15), the Commodores averaged 34,526 in attendance at home games.

In 2014, Vanderbilt completed a $31 million multipurpose indoor practice facility, funded by a combination of philanthropy and university investment, according to the school’s athletics website.

Williams said a new stadium would be paid through several sources, including donations, ticket revenue, luxury suite sales and perhaps corporate naming rights.

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