Tennessee Titans Fans Will Enjoy an Enhanced LP Field Experience in 2012

If LP Field were a man cave, it’s about to get a major TV and sound system upgrade.

I'm basing this article on my secret source who forwarded me a copy of the e-newsletter that every Tennessee Titans season-ticket holder receives. OK, it's my dad. 

Let me list the upgrades to LP Field that will be operational in time for the preseason home opener against the Arizona Cardinals on August 23.  

Elevators to the upper deck: Giant elevators will transport upper-deck ticket holders instead of making them walk. I hear it’s a long way up there, but I have never traveled beyond the ground floor. The Titans have struggled to get upper-deck season ticket holders to renew. This may not help, but it’s better than trying to run to your seat to get there in time for kickoff.

Distributed sound: The Titans will install approximately 700 new speakers around the stadium to make the experience more surround-sound like. Before, there was one big speaker. I would say this is an upgrade, but that just means that they will be able to play “Who Let the Dogs Out” at a louder decibel level.

High-def ribbon board: Running along the east-west sides of the stadium will be new dynamic signs. This will allow the powers that be to show more updated NFL scores than they currently do. At the same time, this is going to allow for more advertisements. If they want fans to keep track of other scores and fantasy results (let’s get real about what fans care about), making the Wi-Fi stronger than that you’d expect to get at a Motel 6 would be helpful.

“Big” LED Screens: The new LED screens in either end zone are going to be four times bigger than the ones fans looked at more often than the actual field last year. Giant video boards are part of every modern NFL stadium. It does make the game-day experience unusual, as you’re looking at a screen more often than the actual field, and you start thinking that maybe the experience would be as good, and certainly cheaper, if you stayed at home.

What does this mean for fans, besides $5 bottles of water? NFL franchises cannot get the shiny new stadium that they want every decade. Upgrades have to be made. The elevators are the most practical upgrade, even if some of the fans could use the walk to burn off the calories from that turkey leg/cheese fries combo. The sound upgrade is nice to ensure that everybody in the crowd hears the same thing, and, let's face it, the Nashville crowd's not as loud as in the early Jeff Fisher days.

The downside is that trying to have a conversation with your fellow fans is going to be tough. The giant LEDs and “ribbon” will help fans keep up with the game when not in their seats.

The upgrades to the stadium are not as important as the upgrades to the offense and defense. What they do is ensure is that the experience matches what you can get at other locations. Unlike the wusses in Indianapolis and Houston, Titan fans can handle a little rain (yes, I jest). That retractable-roof "enhancement" isn’t happening for a while. 

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