After $20M Upgrade, Tennessee’s Old Basketball Arena Feels Nearly New.
Black is the new orange at Tennessee. After a $20 million roof-to-floor renovation of Thompson-Boling Arena, it's the replacement of the trademark plastic orange seats with sharper-looking black ones that has people talking. It was the first thing former Connecticut basketball player Diana Taurasi noticed when she returned with the U.S. women's national team to play the Lady Vols this month. "We actually miss the orange seats, believe it or not. If you find something that's annoying, as a home team, I think you'd want that to stick," she said. Those were Pat Summitt's sentiments when the Tennessee athletic department announced it was dumping the dated orange seats (think fast-food restaurant) for a more sophisticated look. The coach of the national champ Lady Vols wanted to stick with the traditional look, but she's changed her mind now that she's seen the new decor.
Women's hoops, and nothin' but the hoops.
