In 1974 the Athletic Department installed an inflated indoor practice dome on the site of the former Varsity Tennis Courts (where Neyland-Thompson Football facility is today). The structure quickly became referred to as the Bubble. It was erected at a cost of approximately $200,000. Two-fifths of the 251-foot by 118-foot structure was devoted to two, full-sized tennis courts, with the remaining three-fifths having a tartan surface similar to the artificial surface on Shields-Watkins Field. Among practice features were a baseball diamond, a pole vault pit, and a high jump area. The facility was used for football, baseball, track, tennis, and golf practice when weather was inclement.
In October 1987 the Athletics Department announced it would build a new practice facility on Upper Hudson Field (now Haslam Field) and that in order to provide room for the structure, the practice bubble would be relocated to the 110-space, noncommuter parking lot behind the Student Aquatic Center, which had been closed in September in anticipation of the move. The Bubble would then be allocated for general use by the student body. The Bubble opened in its new location on March 4, 1988, with three indoor tennis courts and approximately $100,000 worth of Nautilus conditioning equipment.
In the blizzard of 1993 (over the weekend of March 13), the Bubble collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. Vandals spray-painted the interior of the structure but could not get to the equipment. The equipment was moved to Stokely Athletics Center. The replacement, completed in 1997 (a much-improved model), covered 24,544 square feet and stood 36 feet high and required 4,712,448 pounds of air to inflate the structure. Its floor was made of a material called Sports Court, which consists of a rubber pad underneath several thousand interlocking tiles. The second structure was relocated to cover some of the handball courts during the construction of the multipurpose recreational facility (TRECS) and then returned to use.
In 2017 the Bubble was deflated for the final time due to safety concerns.