In its continuing effort to enhance and upgrade the quality of the facilities available to its women’s athletics teams, the University of Tennessee officially opened the Sherri Parker Lee Softball Stadium by handing the BYU Cougars an 8-2 defeat in the first-annual Tennessee Classic on February 5, 2008. The brand new venue also hosted a record 1,622 fans on April 12, for a high-profile exhibition against the U.S. Olympic Softball Team and the homecoming of former Lady Vol hurler Monica Abbott.

The Lee Softball Stadium features a stateof- the-art press box, a digital scoreboard with video playback capabilities, 1,614 seats and three locker rooms. Each team also has its own locker room facility under the stadium complex.

The stadium itself contains 600 reserved chair-back seats, as well as bleachers with back railings to provide a more comfortable viewing experience for fans of the Orange and White. The press box area includes two private hospitality suites and four VIP suites, with three separate rooms for TV and radio to utilize. The top floor of the complex includes an observatory, accessible by elevator, that is used primarily by TV crews.

Situated beside the stadium, the Lady Vol clubhouse is approximately 7,000-square feet with a team room, whirlpools, training area and conference room. It also includes a kitchen, 30-seat theater, trophy room and a recreation room that contains a big screen television, pool table, video games and comfortable furniture for the student-athletes. The locker room also has full laundry facilities, a mud room, 24 large lockers, shower and bathroom facilities. The staff also has access to a private office with a separate locker room and shower and bath area.

Connected to the clubhouse is one of the largest batting cage facilities in the nation. It contains four separate cages with each standing approximately 16 feet wide by 60 feet long. The cages are designed to provide plenty of room to walk or film between each, allowing the coaching staff room to stand nearby to provide any necessary instruction. All four cages are covered from the weather and possess high-quality Astroturf.

"This is a great day for the Lady Vol Athletic Department," Women's Athletics Director Joan Cronan said. "The Lee Softball Stadium will be one of the finest facilities not only on this campus but in the entire country. Our goal at the University of Tennessee has always been to provide the finest facilities for our student-athletes to utilize during their careers. This ceremony is about a groundbreaking, a family and a team. For Sherri Lee to step up and make this commitment means a great deal to the University of Tennessee. We all want to say thank you to her and her family for their incredible efforts to improve the UT softball program."

The new Lee Softball Stadium will feature a state of the art press box, private boxes and VIP suites, a digital scoreboard with video playback capabilities, 1,581 seats and three locker rooms. Each team will have its own locker room facility under the stadium complex. The Lady Vols will have a 6,500 square-foot training facility directly adjacent with a locker room, film room, player lounge, training room, kitchen, meeting rooms and coaches offices. The dimensions will be 220' to center field and 200' to left and right field.

"This is a dream come true for Lady Vol softball," Lady Vol co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly said. "The 6,500 square-foot locker room will give our players and staff all of the possible amenities available today. The facility will include a theater with the most up-to-date technical advantages with a jumbotron scoreboard. Sherri Lee and her family have been very gracious in their gifts that benefit all current and future Tennessee softball players."

"This stadium and this program mean a lot to me personally," Sherri Lee said. "I enjoy athletics a great deal, and feel that it is very important for women to have the best available opportunities and facilities in order to compete at the highest-level in athletics."

DIRECTIONS TO LEE SOFTBALL STADIUM 

From north (Lexington):
Enter Knoxville on I-75 South to I-275 South. Take the I-40 Exit towards Asheville. Once on I-40 East, take James White Parkway Exit (you will exit off of the left side of the interstate). Follow signs to Neyland Drive. After going approximately 1 mile on Neyland Drive and crossing over Lake Loudon intersection, turn RIGHT onto Leinard Lane. Turn left at the top of Leinard Lane.  Lee Stadium will be past the soccer stadium.

From TYS Airport:
Take 129 North (Alcoa Hwy.) toward Knoxville. After traveling approximately 13 miles, take the Neyland Dr. Exit. Turn LEFT at the traffic light onto Neyland Drive. Turn LEFT onto Leinard Lane. Soccer fields will be in front on the left.

From West (Nashville):
Take I-40 East to the Airport/Smoky Mountain (129 South) Exit #386B. Merge Right and pass Kingston exit. Get off on the next exit-Neyland Dr. Turn Left onto Neyland Dr. and proceed approximately 1.5 miles. Turn left onto Leinard Lane. Turn left at the top of Leinard Lane.  Lee Stadium will be past the soccer stadium.

From East (Asheville):
Take I-40 West. Once on I-40 West, take James White Parkway Exit (you will exit off of the left side of the interstate). Follow signs to Neyland Drive. After going approximately 1 mile on Neyland Drive and crossing over lake Loudon intersection, turn RIGHT onto Leinard Lane. Turn left at the top of Leinard Lane.  Lee Stadium will be past the soccer stadium.

From South (Chattanooga):
Take I-75 North. Merge Right onto I-40 East towards Knoxville. Take the Airport/Smoky Mountain (129 South) Exit #386B. Merge Right and pass Kingston exit. Get off on the next exit-Neyland Dr. Turn Left onto Neyland Dr. and proceed approximately 1.5 miles. Turn left onto Leinard Lane. Turn left at the top of Leinard Lane.  Lee Stadium will be past the soccer stadium.