Tennessee took a major step forward in making Lindsey Nelson Stadium one of the premier baseball venues in the SEC on Friday.

In a tweet from Tennessee athletics director Danny White, approval was granted by the school’s board to continue renovating the baseball facility.

The budget for the renovations sits at $95.8 million.

The multi-year construction plan will push Lindsey Nelson Stadium into the modern era of college baseball stadiums while enhancing player development areas, creating new gates, making wide concourses and adding more concession stands and bathrooms.

Most notably to fans, the capacity in the stadium will increase to 7,600. It currently sits at 4,387. This will make the stadium the seventh biggest in the conference.

The seating will feature over 6,100 permanent seats with additional room for standing room only spectators.

The new designs are based off of fan interest and surveys. The goal is to create a park that not only betters the fan experience but also the players.

"The interest and excitement surrounding our plans for the new-look Lindsey Nelson Stadium have been overwhelming," White said. "After seeking additional input from Vol Nation through our fan surveys, it was apparent that we needed to think even bigger. But one thing we've been strategic about throughout this process is ensuring that the final product provides our team with the most unique and tangible homefield advantage in college baseball. Our fans and students always make their presence felt—and we want to maximize their impact on winning ballgames."

Head coach Tony Vitello is also excited about the renovations.

He understands the need to raise the capacity and knows an increase in player development areas will lead to more wins in the future.

"Since arriving in Knoxville, our staff, in combination with the university's support, have earmarked player development as priority number one," Vitello said. "With these proposed renovations, our player development areas will go from some of the best in the country to a truly elite status. And this is only a portion of the extensive work that ultimately will result in a facility worthy of its fan base.

"The players we have been blessed to coach here have created a significant need for increased capacity. To date, our fans have been arguably the rowdiest in the country. Now, similar to our football and basketball facilities, we will have seating capacity that is more appropriate to house not just passion of our fans but the quantity, as well."

Currently, there is no official date set for when the construction will be complete. However, the university has noted it will be a "multi-year" project.

*****

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens.