Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center

Thompson-Boling Arena, now at Food City Center

Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center is the University of Tennessee's basketball arena on the Knoxville campus, home of the Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Vols basketball teams and Tennessee volleyball, and a regular stop for concerts. It seats 21,678 for basketball, and the university calls it the third-largest on-campus basketball arena in the country. The best seats are lower-level sidelines near midcourt, sections 105 and 121; the best value is the 200-level center, sections 220–221.

The name grew longer in 2023. The arena opened in 1987 as Thompson-Boling Arena, named for donor B. Ray Thompson Sr. and former UT president Edward J. Boling. On August 23, 2023, UT announced a ten-year naming deal with Food City, the Abingdon, Virginia, grocery chain, and the building became Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. UT's own pages now often shorten it to Food City Center, while fans still say "Thompson-Boling." The floor itself is named The Summitt, for Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt.

Thompson-Boling seating chart: three numbered decks

The arena has a deep lower deck and a large upper deck, with suites and loge seats tucked between them on the north side. Section numbers below come from the RateYourSeats section listing and match the 100, 200 and 300 numbering on Tennessee's event maps.

100 level: sections 100–131

The lower bowl wraps the court. RateYourSeats lists 105 and 121 as midcourt, with 103–107 and 119–122 as the sideline sections. The 2025 renovation added the Riverside Club on the lower level, giving about 1,500 lower-level seats access to a club space before games and at halftime.

Loge and suites

Since the 2008 renovation, 32 luxury suites have filled the north balcony, with 166 loge seats along the side of the court directly below them.

200 and 300 levels

Above the lower bowl, sections continue in the 200s (around 209–231) and 300s (around 300–331, with some "A" sections). A 360-degree LED ribbon board separates the lower and upper decks. RateYourSeats marks 220–221 and 321 as the upper midcourt seats.

The arena is big: 448 feet long, 310 feet wide and 120 feet from the floor to the roof. That height is why the top rows of the 300 level feel far from the court; the scale that makes 20,000-plus crowds possible also makes the upper corners a long view.

Best seats for Vols and Lady Vols games

Lower sideline

Sections 103–107 and 119–122, ideally between rows 10 and 20, are the classic basketball view: high enough to see plays develop, low enough to hear the bench. Midcourt 105 and 121 are the premium spots.

Behind the baskets

Lower baseline sections cost less and put you in the noise, but the basket stanchion and players under the rim block the far end. They are fine for the atmosphere, weaker for following the game.

Upper deck strategy

The 200-level center (around 220–221) is the value seat: centered, with the whole court in view. The highest 300-level corners are the seats to skip for basketball; if you end up upstairs, stay as close to midcourt as possible and as low as you can.

When demand peaks

The men's season runs from November into March, with SEC play through the winter. Kentucky has drawn the arena's biggest crowd: 25,610 on January 21, 1989, before the renovation reduced capacity. Weekend SEC games and visits from Kentucky and other conference rivals are the hardest tickets. The Lady Vols' history is just as deep here; their record crowd was 24,653 against UConn on January 7, 2006, the NCAA women's regular-season record at the time.

Concerts and capacity

• Basketball: 21,678 (24,535 before the 2007–08 renovation)
• Concerts: up to about 25,000, depending on the stage and floor setup

For an end-stage concert, the floor straight back from the stage is closest, and the lower side sections nearest the stage give the best raised view. Because the building is so long, the far end of the lower bowl and the upper decks are distant from an end stage; a lower section along the side, angled toward the stage, is often a better buy than the back of the upper deck. Avoid seats beside or behind the stage unless the show is in the round.

The 2025 renovation installed a new center-hung video board with larger screens, new corner boards and a new sound system with more even coverage, which helps the upper seats at concerts as much as at games.

Getting in: clear bags, doors and security

As of 2026, the arena follows Tennessee Athletics' clear bag policy. Each guest may carry one clear plastic bag no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, or one clear one-gallon resealable bag, plus a small clutch up to about 4.5 by 6.5 inches. All other bags are prohibited, including diaper bags, and nothing can be stored at the gates; diaper supplies go in a clear bag.

• Doors: 90 minutes before men's basketball, 60 minutes before women's basketball and volleyball; concerts vary.
• Security: walk-through metal detectors at every entrance; phones and other large metal items go in a bin.
• Re-entry: none, and no passes are issued.
• Strollers: prohibited.
• Smoking: the campus is smoke-free, with no designated smoking areas.
• Beer: sold throughout the arena with ID required; sales stop at the 12-minute mark of the second half of men's games and after the third quarter of women's games.

Check the building policies page before you go, since rules can change.

Parking and arrival

The arena sits on the UT campus at 1600 Phillip Fulmer Way. A pedestrian bridge connects the G-10 parking garage to the arena's concourse level, which is the most convenient way in for fans who park there. Entrances are at the east and west ends of the building, and the ticket windows are on the Phillip Fulmer Way level at the west end. Campus parking for basketball and concerts is managed by the university; check Tennessee's gameday page for current lots and rates.

On big SEC nights, arrive when the doors open: metal detectors at every entrance slow the line, and the 90-minute window before men's games fills quickly.

History of the Vols' arena

Ground was broken on November 2, 1983, and the arena opened in 1987 at a cost of about 40 million dollars, and Tennessee basketball has played there ever since. It hosted the 1989 SEC men's tournament, NCAA men's tournament games in 1990, 1994 and 1999, and the 1990 Women's Final Four.

The first major renovation, a 35 million dollar project unveiled in 2008, replaced every seat, hung a center scoreboard and added the north-balcony suites and courtside loge seats; a second phase built the bridge from the G-10 garage and the LED ribbon board. LED lighting arrived in 2014, the Larry Pratt Basketball Locker Room Complex in 2018, and new video boards, sound and the Riverside Club in 2025. On February 5, 2009, Pat Summitt won her 1,000th game here, a 73–43 victory over Georgia.

Sources

• Tennessee Athletics – UT partners with Food City on 10-year arena naming rights deal
• Tennessee Athletics – Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
• Tennessee Athletics – Food City Center renovations (Jan. 31, 2025)
• Tennessee Athletics – Food City Center building policies
• Tennessee Athletics – Food City Center plan your visit
• Wikipedia – Thompson–Boling Arena
• RateYourSeats – Thompson-Boling Arena sections