TSU’s Hale Stadium Gears Up to Welcome Back Fans

NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – With a brand new scoreboard, video monitors, refurbished seating and additional room for 4,000 more spectators, Hale Stadium is preparing to light it up when Tiger fans return to “The Hole” on September 15 for the first college football game in 14 years.

Work continues on Hale Stadium with contractors installing seating in the south end zone. The first scheduled game for “The Hole” is September 15. (Photo by John S. Cross, TSU Media Relations)

A $1 million facelift of the 81-year-old facility, which began about a year ago, is on budget and on target for completion by game day, according to Project Manager George Herring, adding that fans will not be disappointed “when they see what we have done.”

“The old field (ROTC) house is gone; the old scoreboard is gone,” he said. “When they (fans) come they will see new ticket booths and additional bleachers on each end of the field, a refurbished press box with TV monitors and up-to-date electronics for the media, and improved access for the handicapped.”

Referred to as ”The Hole” by diehard fans, Hale Stadium, which opened in 1931, served as the home of the TSU Tiger football team until 1998 when LP Field opened.  It had since been used as a practice field for the Tigers and area high schools.

Following appeals by alumni and students, the administration obtained Tennessee Board of Regents approval and the upgrades got underway in December 2011 with the demolition of the 60-year-old ROTC building at the south end of the stadium. Work has since kept pace with completion deadline.

The first game on September 15 will be against Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay.  The other games will be against Eastern Kentucky State University on October 6, and Tennessee Tech. on October 27.

The readiness and enthusiasm to welcome back Tiger football fans to “The Hole” is infectious.

“We can’t wait for our fans, alumni, students and visitors to come back and see the improvement we have made not only to this stadium but to our entire campus,” said Ron Brooks, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management. “It is heart warming to see how different things are. We want to showcase TSU.”

In a meeting with key project participants Friday, July 27, Athletics Director Teresa Lawrence Phillips could not keep her cool either.

“Playing in Hale Stadium is just different; it’s home,” she said. “Playing in LP Field is like playing away. Here (Hale Stadium), our players get the feel of a real home crowd. It is just different to see all those people, our students, alumni and fans in blue and while cheering on our players. This is visual and it is real.”