March Madness: When the Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball team played Iowa in the second round of the NCAA tournament last weekend, the hometown crowd knew where the good seats were. Fieldhouse Social bar manager Mark Young, pictured, said people started lining the sidewalks at University Commons about 45 minutes before the sports bar opened at 11. It filled up within minutes. Fieldhouse Social, which is a favorite venue for watching everything from Predators ice hockey to football time in Tennessee, has a 21-foot TV, billed as “the largest in the Southland.” There is an array of clubby, plush chairs and a big comfy couch from which to watch your bracket rise or fall. The memorabilia-filled bar has a deep selection of beer and craft cocktails, and the menu has elevated takes on crowd favorites, including moonshine-glazed wings, Sweetwater Valley Cheddar mac & cheese and locally sourced burgers. Fieldhouse Social is at 2525 University Commons Way. Info: www.fieldhousesocial.com. (Photos by Tracy Owens)
The inauspicious exterior disguises a sports lover’s paradise at University Commons.