coached the team from 1926–1952, with two interruptions for military service. In 1968, the stadium became one of the first stadiums to have an AstroTurf surface. It stayed until natural grass was restored to the field in 1994. Reflecting the Vols' growth in stature, the stadium's capacity jumped more than 14-fold during his 38-year association with UT as either an assistant coach (1925), head coach (three separate tenures from 1926 to 1952), or athletic director (1946–1962). By comparison, when it had originally been built in 1921, it was not even a fraction the size of Tennessee's largest football stadium at the time, Vanderbilt's Dudley Field. Shortly before his death, he spearheaded the stadium's first major expansion. The plans he drafted were so far ahead of their time that they have formed the basis for every expansion since then. The playing surface is still named Shields–Watkins Field. The latest additions and updates to the facility were part of a $136.4 million series of renovations, beginning in 2004 and completed by 2010. They included the bricking around the field and the removal of the previous hedges, numerous changes to the inside and outside of the stadium structure, additions and reconfigurations of seating areas, as well as new home locker, press, and varsity rooms. In a Spring 2001 poll in The Sporting News, Neyland Stadium was ranked as the nation's #1 college football stadium. In 2004, Sports Illustrated ranked Neyland Stadium, the University of Tennessee campus, and the surrounding Knoxville area, as the best college football weekend experience. On April 8, 2009, it was announced that Neyland Stadium was one of seventy stadiums named for the United States' bid to either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Attendance records Attendance has been recorded for Tennessee Volunteer football games at Neyland Stadium since 1946. Average attendance since that year has been 68,925 fans per game. The largest crowd ever recorded at Neyland Stadium was 109,061 on September 18, 2004, when Tennessee defeated Florida, 30–28. Tennessee set a school record by averaging 107,595 fans per home game in 2000. Vols' performance at Neyland Through week one of the 2022 season, the Tennessee Volunteers football team had compiled a record of 485 wins, 141 losses, and 17 ties at Neyland, for a winning percentage of . The team has had 37 perfect home records, the last coming in the 2022 season. The team's longest home winning