Large tent serving as visiting locker room for Hawai'i at Vanderbilt amid stadium construction

AndrewEdGraham

Plenty has been made of the Vanderbilt stadium construction that will be ongoing throughout the season, leaving the north and south end zones vacant of stands. But a new wrinkle emerged on Saturday shortly before Vanderbilt hosted Hawai’i for a Week 0 game.

Apparently the visiting locker room at FirstBank Stadium is, for now, a sizable outdoor tent. It’s much like the tents that would be set up for large outdoor gatherings.

And if the internet had a field day with a lack of stands in the end zones as stadium renovations go on, a tent for the visiting locker room such be pure cannon fodder.

Hawaii's "locker room" is a tent outside the stadium @SickosCommittee pic.twitter.com/JjhUhQQv1J

It does at least appear the tent is set up on a platform built over the ground, so despite some less-than-ideal walls and roof, it’s at least not bare grass and dirt serving as the floor for the Rainbow Warriors. The temporary accommodations also apparently have a full suite of necessary amenities such as showers and bathrooms.

This might not be the last seen or heard about the visiting locker room tent at FirstBank Stadium this season as more teams come to play.

Vanderbilt football has an interesting setup with its scoreboards entering the 2023 season, to say the least. FirstBank Stadium is undergoing renovations and construction is still in progress in both end zones, causing the Commodores to put up a temporary video board to make do before the permanent one is installed.

A first look at the scoreboard emerged on Twitter ahead of Vanderbilt’s season opener. It appears to be held up by two construction cranes and is “similar in size” to what the official scoreboard will be according to The Tennessean. You can view photos of the makeshift scoreboard below.

Second try: Temporary scoreboards at Vanderbilt this season playing at FirstBank Stadium under renovation – its first major one since 1981. pic.twitter.com/FrhOz4ED9B

There are some concerns with how the scoreboard will hold up. A little more than an hour before kickoff against the Rainbow Warriors, word emerged that lightning had been detected in the area and fans were being evacuated from the stadium.

With windy conditions and clouds covering the Nashville sky, video surfaced of the scoreboard swaying from side to side. That has understandably caused some to question just how safe it will be to play under the current setup.

The scoreboards aren’t the only thing that will be affected by the ongoing renovations at Vanderbilt’s stadium. The capacity has also been cut down by nearly 12,000, going from 40,350 to 28,500. Additionally, the team will use locker rooms at McGugin Center to dress for the game and will use the baseball team’s pitching lab, located underneath the stands, for in-game meetings.