Thompson-Boling Arena Seating Chart
Thompson-Boling Arena (Food City Center) on the University of Tennessee campus is one of the largest on-campus arenas in the country, home to Volunteers basketball. Its huge lower bowl turns into a wall of orange for big SEC games.
Sections at Thompson-Boling Arena
Here are the 5 main sections on the Thompson-Boling Arena chart. Ticket price, distance, and sightline all follow from which one you're in, so find yours on this list before you commit — and remember configurations move: a concert, a game, and a private buyout each use the room differently.
- Lower bowl 100s — vast lower ring around the court
- Club and chairback sections
- Upper bowl 300s — second deck
- Student section behind a baseline
- Suites along the sidelines
Best seats at Thompson-Boling Arena
Lower bowl sections 109-114 at center court along the Tennessee bench are the prime seats. With such a deep lower bowl, the front rows of the upper 300s near center can beat the back of the lower bowl for sightline and price.
Tips before you go
It sits beside Neyland Stadium, so a Vols football Saturday reshapes campus parking — check both schedules. Most fans park in campus garages or downtown Knoxville and walk the riverfront; arrive early on marquee SEC nights.
How to read the Thompson-Boling Arena seating chart
Start with the shape of the room: 21,678 seats in a bowl that wraps a central court, rink, or stage, split into 5 sections — Lower bowl 100s, Club and chairback sections, Upper bowl 300s, Student section behind a baseline, and Suites along the sidelines. Your ticket names exactly one of them, and that name is worth reading twice, because neighboring sections can differ by a full level, a price tier, or which side of the room you face from.
Every Thompson-Boling Arena seat is really the sum of three choices: how close you are to the floor, whether you face the action square on or from a baseline, and how high you sit. Put Suites along the sidelines and Lower bowl 100s side by side and the gap shows up immediately — in level, in price tier, and often in which half of the Knoxville room you land in. The best-seats notes above settle it for Thompson-Boling Arena; just verify section, row, and seat on the official map before you pay.
For scale: at 21,678 seats, Thompson-Boling Arena ranks 4th of the 12 Tennessee venues in this guide by capacity — GEODIS Park (30,000) is the next size up, FedExForum (17,794) the next size down.
Building a seating chart for an event at Thompson-Boling Arena
If your event lands at or near Thompson-Boling Arena — a corporate block, a reception, a team dinner — start from the venue's real geography: sections like Lower bowl 100s and Suites along the sidelines and the tiers around them set the footprint. Rebuild that footprint in the maker with rounds for the dinner, rows for the program, and a head table where the format wants one, then assign guests and export a PDF for the Knoxville event-services team. You won't need anywhere near the full 21,678-seat configuration; private blocks live in clubs, suites, and adjacent banquet rooms — exactly the scale the tool handles.
Hosting a private event at Thompson-Boling Arena?
From dinner rounds to program rows to head tables, lay out your Thompson-Boling Arena event the way the room will actually run. The maker supports up to 500 seats and exports a print-ready PDF for the Knoxville venue's event staff.
Open the seating chart generatorFrequently asked questions
- How many seats does Thompson-Boling Arena hold?
- 21,678 at full configuration. In practice the number depends on the event — sections open and close between a concert and a daytime show — and a private buyout uses just the sections booked, usually a club or a suite out of the 5 on the Knoxville chart.
- What are the best seats at Thompson-Boling Arena?
- Lower bowl sections 109-114 at center court along the Tennessee bench are the prime seats. With such a deep lower bowl, the front rows of the upper 300s near center can beat the back of the lower bowl for sightline and price.
- What sections does Thompson-Boling Arena have?
- Main sections include: Lower bowl 100s — vast lower ring around the court; Club and chairback sections; Upper bowl 300s — second deck. Full breakdown in the sections list above.
- Where is Thompson-Boling Arena located?
- Thompson-Boling Arena sits in Knoxville, Tennessee. For the exact street address, parking, and the transit stop nearest sections like Lower bowl 100s, check the official Thompson-Boling Arena site before the day — Knoxville venues differ on gate, lot, and rideshare access.
- How do I plan a private event at Thompson-Boling Arena?
- Open the maker below and work from Thompson-Boling Arena's actual geography (Lower bowl 100s and Suites along the sidelines and neighbors). Drop tables where your event sits, assign each guest, and export the PDF the Knoxville event-services team will set up from.