1.
Nashville, Tennessee
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Nashville is the capital of the U. S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in the central part of the state. The city is a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, banking and transportation industries and it is known as a center of the country music industry, earning it the nickname Music City, U. S. A. Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government which includes six municipalities in a two-tier system. Nashville is governed by a mayor, vice-mayor, and 40-member Metropolitan Council, thirty-five of the members are elected from single-member districts, five are elected at-large. Reflecting the citys position in government, Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Courts courthouse for Middle Tennessee. According to 2015 estimates from the U. S. Census Bureau, the balance population, which excludes semi-independent municipalities within Nashville, was 654,610. The 2015 population of the entire 13-county Nashville metropolitan area was 1,830,345, the 2015 population of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Columbia combined statistical area, a larger trade area, was 1,951,644. The town of Nashville was founded by James Robertson, John Donelson, and it was named for Francis Nash, the American Revolutionary War hero. Nashville quickly grew because of its location, accessibility as a port on the Cumberland River, a tributary of the Ohio River. By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 African American slaves and 14 free blacks, in 1806, Nashville was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee, by 1860, when the first rumblings of secession began to be heard across the South, antebellum Nashville was a prosperous city. The citys significance as a port made it a desirable prize as a means of controlling important river. In February 1862, Nashville became the first state capital to fall to Union troops, the state was occupied by Union troops for the duration of the war. Within a few years after the Civil War, the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate veteran John W. Morton, meanwhile, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and developed a solid manufacturing base. The post–Civil War years of the late 19th century brought new prosperity to Nashville and these healthy economic times left the city with a legacy of grand classical-style buildings, which can still be seen around the downtown area. Circa 1950 the state approved a new city charter that provided for the election of city council members from single-member districts. This change was supported because at-large voting diluted the minority populations political power in the city and they could seldom gain a majority of the population to support a candidate of their choice
2.
McKissack & McKissack
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McKissack & McKissack is an American architecture and engineering firm based for many years in Nashville, Tennessee, and now based in New York City and Washington, D. C. Founded in 1905, it was the first African-American-owned architectural firm in the United States and is the oldest minority-owned architecture, the firm was founded by brothers Moses McKissack III and Calvin Lunsford McKissack, natives of Pulaski, Tennessee. Their father and grandfather were trained builders, Moses McKissack entered the architecture trade by working as an apprentice to a builder in Pulaski who hired him in 1890 to assist with architectural designs, drawings and construction work. His formal education was obtained at the Pulaski Colored High School, Calvin McKissack was educated at Barrows School in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Fisk University in Nashville, which he attended from 1905 to 1909. Both brothers obtained architectural degrees through a correspondence course, between 1895 and 1905, Moses McKissack built houses in Decatur, Alabama, and Mount Pleasant and Columbia, Tennessee. In 1905, he received a commission to build a new house for the dean of architecture and he opened his first architectural office in Nashville and quickly picked up additional jobs designing and building other homes in the West End. The firms first major project was design of the Carnegie Library on the Fisk University campus, by 1920, Moses McKissack had acquired design clients throughout Nashville. Between 1918 and 1922 he designed more than one dozen residences in Nashville and Belle Meade, in 1915, he returned to Tennessee, becoming superintendent of industries and a teacher of architectural drawing at the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School. After Tennessee instituted a law for architects in 1921, the McKissack brothers became two of the first registered architects in the state. After they passed easily, the state authorities balked at giving them licenses, in 1922, Calvin McKissack resigned his job with the teachers organization and the brothers established the partnership of McKissack & McKissack. In 1924, the National Baptist Convention, U. S. A, after the building was completed in 1925, the McKissack firm moved its offices into that building, where they remained for many years. In 1927 the McKissacks designed the library of Tennessee State University in Nashville. Around 1940, the firm began to expand outside Tennessee, architectural licensing boards in some other states were skeptical of the qualifications of black architects. Tennessee authorities responded to their concerns with a statement that McKissack and McKissack was, the firm received licenses from Alabama in 1941 and from Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi in 1943. In 1942, the McKissack won a $5.7 million U. S. federal government contract to design and build Tuskegee Army Airfield, home to the Tuskegee Airmens 99th Pursuit Squadron, in Tuskegee, Alabama. At the time, this was the largest federal contract ever awarded to a black-owned company, Calvin McKissack remained with the firm until his death in 1968. William DeBerry McKissack, the youngest son of Moses III, then succeeded his uncle as president of the firm. After suffering a stroke, he retired due to illness, and his wife, Leatrice Buchanan McKissack, became executive officer. C
3.
Thornton Tomasetti
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Thornton Tomasetti is an American 1, 200+ person structural engineering consulting firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1956 as Lev Zetlin & Associates, the 50-year-old company has locations throughout the world. The engineering firm provided the design for several of the worlds tallest building structures, including the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Other structures designed by the firm include Soldier Field in Chicago, Petco Park in San Diego, among other architects of note, Thornton Tomasetti has collaborated with Cesar Pelli, Santiago Calatrava, Renzo Piano, and Rafael Vinoly. Thornton Tomasetti works to advance design and construction practices. About one-fifth of its staff are LEED accredited professionals, Thornton Tomasetti was the first structural engineering company to sign the AIA2030 Commitment. Thornton Tomasetti immediately began to branch out and enter the market with several innovative designs. The New York City office essentially began in 1956 as Lev Zetlin & Associates, Lev Zetlin also embraced the creative use of materials, most notably demonstrated in a bridge design made entirely of paper products for an International Paper ad. In 1993, Thornton Tomasetti acquired Cohen-Barreto-Marchertas and created a Chicago office, founded in 1965 by Eli Cohen, CBM pioneered the use of the now-common composite steel structural system, which combines a reinforced concrete core wall with a light steel floor framing. In the early 1960s, Cohens adaptation of the cooling tower design to high-rise offices required a change in the way the unions worked. Ironworker contracts forbid members of trades to work at higher elevations at job sites. But the proposed system was reviewed with them and they agreed to let concrete workers work above them, on September 8,2015, Thornton Tomasetti announced that it had merged with structural engineering firm Weidlinger Associates. The combined firm will have 1,200 employees operating in 34 cities internationally, in 2008 Thornton was awarded the Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology from the National Building Museum for his work with this program. Thornton Tomasetti Corporate Website ACE Mentor Program
4.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
5.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
6.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, the AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami. The Falcons are tied with the Dolphins for being the second-oldest NFL franchise in the Deep South, the Falcons played their home games at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta from the 1992 to 2016 NFL seasons. Construction began on Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May 2014, with play projected to begin there during the 2017 season and their headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Two years later, the AFL held another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers, in 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium was built, the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL and he forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues. By June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL, former commissioner Pete Rozelle and Smith made the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion franchise became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL draft as well as the pick in each of the first five rounds. The Falcons drafted All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft, the league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises. Although the Falcons selected many players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club received its nickname on August 29,1965, miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was singled out from many people who suggested Falcons as the nickname for the new franchise. Elliott wrote, the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and it is deadly and has a great sporting tradition. The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first preseason game on August 1,1966, under Head Coach Norb Hecker they lost their first nine regular-season games in 1966 and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins, the Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The only two winning seasons in this period were 1971 and 1973. In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time, the following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the Divisional Playoffs. In the 1980 season, after a winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best record of 12–4
7.
Cynodon dactylon
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Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasive species there. It is presumed to have arrived in North America from Bermuda, in Bermuda it has been known as crab grass. The blades are a color and are short, usually 2–15 cm long with rough edges. The erect stems can grow 1–30 cm tall, the stems are slightly flattened, often tinged purple in colour. The seed heads are produced in a cluster of two to six together at the top of the stem, each spike 2–5 cm long. It has a root system, in drought situations with penetrable soil. The grass creeps along the ground and roots wherever a node touches the ground, C. dactylon reproduces through seeds, runners, and rhizomes. Growth begins at temperatures above 15 °C with optimum growth between 24 and 37 °C, in winter, the grass becomes dormant and turns brown, growth is promoted by full sun and retarded by full shade, e. g. close to tree trunks. Cynodon dactylon is widely cultivated in warm climates all over the world between about 30° S and 30° N latitude, and that get between 625 and 1,750 mm of rainfall a year. It is also found in the U. S. mostly in the half of the country. Control/eradication It is fast-growing and tough, making it popular and useful for sports fields and it is a highly desirable turf grass in warm temperate climates, particularly for those regions where its heat and drought tolerance enable it to survive where few other grasses do. This combination makes it a frequent choice for golf courses in the southern and southeastern U. S and it has a relatively coarse-bladed form with numerous cultivars selected for different turf requirements. It is also aggressive, crowding out most other grasses and invading other habitats. This weedy nature leads some gardeners to give it the name of devil grass, Bermuda grass is incredibly difficult to control in flower beds and most herbicides do not work. However, Ornamec, Ornamec 170 and Turflon ester have shown effectiveness as well as Imazapyr. All of these items are difficult to find in stores as they are primarily marketed to professional landscapers. The hybrid variety Tifton 85, like some other grasses, produces cyanide under certain conditions, and has been implicated in several livestock deaths
8.
Sod
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Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material. In British English such material is usually known as turf. Sod is typically used for lawns, golf courses, and sports stadiums around the world, in residential construction, it is sold to landscapers, home builders or home owners who use it to establish a lawn quickly and avoid soil erosion. Sod can be used to repair a small area of lawn, golf course, Sod is also effective in increasing cooling, improving air and water quality, and assisting in flood prevention by draining water. Scandinavia has a history of employing sod roofing and a traditional house type is the Icelandic turf house. Following passage of the Homestead Act by the US Congress in 1862, while it might be hard for some to imagine sod as a suitable primary building material, the prairie sod of the Great Plains was so dense and difficult to cut it earned the nickname Nebraska marble. Blacksmith John Deere made his fortune when he became the first to make a plow that could cut the prairie sod. Sod is grown on specialist farms, for 2009, the United States Department of Agriculture reported 1,412 farms had 368,188 acres of sod in production. It is usually grown locally to minimize both the cost of transport and also the risk of damage to the product, the farms that produce this grass may have many varieties of grass grown in one location to best suit the consumers use and preference of appearance. It is usually harvested 10 to 18 months after planting, depending on the growing climate, on the farm it undergoes fertilization, frequent watering, frequent mowing and subsequent vacuuming to remove the clippings. It is harvested using specialized equipment, precision cut to standardized sizes, Sod is typically harvested in small square or rectangular slabs, or large 4-foot-wide rolls. Mississippi State University has developed a method of cultivating sod. For the very few sod farms that export turf internationally, this soil-less sod may travel both lighter and better than traditional sod. Additionally, since the sod is not grown in soil, it does not need to be washed clean of soil down to the bare roots, in many applications, such as erosion control and athletic fields, immediacy is a key factor. Seed may be blown about by the wind, eaten by birds and it takes some weeks to form a visually appealing lawn and further time before it is robust enough for use. Sod reduces erosion by stabilizing the soil, many prized cultivars only reproduce vegetatively, not sexually. Sod cultivation is the means of producing additional plants. To grow these varieties for sale, turf farms use a technique called sprigging, Bermudagrass is quite commonly used for golf courses and sports fields across the southern portions of the United States
9.
History of the Houston Oilers
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The professional American football team now known as the Tennessee Titans previously played in Houston, Texas, from 1960 to 1996. This article chronicles the history during their time as the Houston Oilers during that period. The Oilers began play in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. The team won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in the late 1960s, the Oilers competed in the East Division of the AFL before the merger, after which they joined the newly formed AFC Central. The Oilers throughout their existence were owned by Bud Adams and played their games at the Astrodome for the majority of their time in Houston. The Oilers were the first champions of the American Football League, winning the 1960 and 1961 contests, from 1978 to 1980, the Oilers, led by Bum Phillips and in the midst of the Luv Ya Blue campaign, appeared in the 1978 and 1979 AFC Championship Games. For the rest of the Oilers time in Houston, however, they were generally in the division of the league. The Oilers main colors were Columbia blue and white, with scarlet trim, Oilers jerseys were always Columbia blue for home and white for away. The Oilers played the 1997 season in Memphis before moving to Nashville in 1998, the NFL would return to Houston in 2002 with a new franchise, the Houston Texans. The Houston Oilers began in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. They were owned by Bud Adams, a Houston oilman, who had several previous unsuccessful bids for an NFL expansion team in Houston. The Oilers appeared in the first three AFL championships and they scored an important victory over the NFL when they signed LSUs Heisman Trophy winner, All-America running back Billy Cannon. Cannon joined other Oiler offensive stars such as quarterback George Blanda, flanker Charlie Hennigan, running back Charlie Tolar, after winning the first-ever AFL championship over the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960, they repeated over the same team in 1961. They lost to the Dallas Texans in the classic 1962 double-overtime AFL championship game, in 1962, the Oilers were the first AFL team to sign an active NFL player away from the other league, when wide receiver Willard Dewveall left the Bears to join the champion Oilers. Dewveall that year caught the longest pass reception for a touchdown in professional American football history,99 yd, from Jacky Lee, previously, the Oilers had played at Jeppesen Stadium at the University of Houston from 1960 to 1964, and Rice Universitys stadium from 1965 to 1967. Adams had intended the play at Rice from the first. After the Astrodome opened for business, Adams attempted to move there, the 1969 season, the last as an AFL team, saw Houston begin 3–1, but tumble afterwards. They qualified for the playoffs, but were defeated by the Raiders 56–7, the years immediately after the AFL-NFL Merger were not as kind to the Oilers, who sank to the bottom of the AFC Central division
10.
Washington Redskins
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The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Redskins compete in the National Football League as a member of the National Football Conference East division. The Redskins have played more than 1,000 games since 1932, the Redskins have won five NFL Championships. The franchise has captured 14 NFL divisional titles and six NFL conference championships, the Redskins were the first team in the NFL with an official marching band, and also the first team to have a fight song, Hail to the Redskins. The team began play as the Boston Braves in 1932, based in Boston, before relocating to Washington, the Redskins won the 1937 and 1942 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. They also played in, and lost, the 1936,1940,1943 and they have made 24 postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 23–18. All of the Redskins league titles were attained during two 10-year spans, from 1936 to 1945, the Redskins went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them. The second period lasted between 1982 and 1991 where the Redskins appeared in the seven times, captured four Conference titles. The Redskins have also experienced failure in their history, the most notable period of general failure was from 1946 to 1970, during which the Redskins posted only four winning seasons and did not have a single postseason appearance. During this period, the Redskins went without a winning season during the years 1956–1968. In 1961, the franchise posted their worst regular season record with a 1–12–1 showing, since 1992, the Redskins have only won the NFC East three times, made five postseason appearances, and had nine seasons with a winning record.85 billion. They also set the NFL record for attendance in 2007. The team name and logo have been the subject of controversy, with lawsuits being filed by Native American groups who consider the team name, polls conducted in the 2010s have shown a lack of major support among fans for a name change. The team originated as the Boston Braves, based in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1932, at the time the team played in Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves baseball team. The following year the club moved to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, to round out the change, Marshall hired William Lone Star Dietz, who was part Sioux, as the teams head coach. However, Boston wasnt much of a town at the time. The Redskins relocated to Washington, D. C. in 1937, in their early years in Washington, the Redskins shared Griffith Stadium with the Washington Senators baseball team. The Redskins played and won their first game in Washington, D. C. on September 16,1937, on December 5,1937, they earned their first division title in Washington against the Giants, 49–14, for the Eastern Championship
11.
Neyland Stadium
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Neyland Stadium is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, the stadiums official capacity is 102,455. Neyland Stadium is the fifth largest stadium in the United States, the sixth largest stadium in the world, the stadium is named for Robert Neyland, who served three stints as head football coach at the University of Tennessee between 1926 and 1952. The Tennessee Volunteers football team played at Baldwin Park, which was once located between Grand Avenue and Dale Avenue, north of Fort Sanders. From 1909 to 1920, the played at Wait Field. The stadium was first conceived in 1919, colonel W. S. Shields, president of Knoxvilles City National Bank and a University of Tennessee trustee, provided the initial capital to prepare and equip an athletic field. At the groups behest, students and faculty finished the field over a two-day period, an invitational track meet was then held as a celebration and thus became the very first event at Neyland Stadium. The first UT football game at the stadium took place on September 24,1921, with the Vols defeating Emory & Henry, the first night game at Neyland Stadium was played on September 16,1972, with the Vols defeating Penn State, 28–21. In 1962, the stadium was renamed Neyland Stadium in honor of General Robert Neyland, the playing field continued to be named Shields-Watkins field. Neyland, the man credited with making the Vols a national power, coached the team from 1926–1952. Reflecting the Vols growth in stature, the stadiums capacity jumped more than 14-fold during his 38-year association with UT as either an assistant coach, head coach, or athletic director. By comparison, when it had originally built in 1921, it was not even a fraction the size of Tennessees largest football stadium at the time. Shortly before his death, he spearheaded the stadiums 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. In a Spring 2001 poll in The Sporting News, Neyland Stadium was ranked as the nations #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 the 70 stadiums named for the United States bid to either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, 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 record by averaging 107,595 fans per home game in 2000
12.
Knoxville, Tennessee
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Knoxville is a city in the U. S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Knox County. The city had an population of 185,291 in 2015. Knoxville is the city of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The KMSA is, in turn, the component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette Combined Statistical Area. First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee, the city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century. The arrival of the railroad in 1855 led to an economic boom, during the Civil War, the city was bitterly divided over the secession issue, and was occupied alternately by both Confederate and Union armies. Following the war, Knoxville grew rapidly as a wholesaling and manufacturing center. The citys economy stagnated after the 1920s as the manufacturing sector collapsed, Knoxville is the home of the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee, whose sports teams, called the Volunteers or Vols, are extremely popular in the surrounding area. The first people to form settlements in what is now Knoxville arrived during the Woodland period. One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville is a burial mound constructed during the early Mississippian culture period, the earthwork mound is now surrounded by the University of Tennessee campus. By the 18th century, the Cherokee had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region, although they were consistently at war with the Creek, the Cherokee people called the Knoxville area kuwandatalunyi, which means Mulberry Place. Most Cherokee habitation in the area was concentrated in the Overhill settlements along the Little Tennessee River, the first Euro-American traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in the Tennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Hernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540, the end of the French and Indian War and confusion brought about by the American Revolution led to a drastic increase in Euro-American settlement west of the Appalachians. By the 1780s, Euro-American settlers were established in the Holston. The U. S. Congress ordered all illegal settlers out of the valley in 1785, as settlers continued to trickle into Cherokee lands, tensions between the settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily. In 1786, James White, a Revolutionary War officer, and his friend James Connor built Whites Fort near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier. In 1790, Whites son-in-law, Charles McClung—who had arrived from Pennsylvania the previous year—surveyed Whites holdings between First Creek and Second Creek for the establishment of a town, mcClung drew up 640. 5-acre lots. The waterfront was set aside for a town common, two lots were set aside for a church and graveyard
