The press box and executive suites officially opened September 5, 1987, for the Colorado State game, expanding a two-floor press box in operation since 1962. On September 18, 1992, the press box was named for Tom Elam of Union City, a longtime Tennessee trustee and Athletics Board member. The press box had seven floors (counting single and double-letter stadium levels) including leased suites, box seating for official guests of the university and Athletics Department, and complete facilities for print and broadcast media. There were six elevators serving the facility, four serving the skyboxes and two serving the press area.
The facility stretched from goal line to goal line and was 61 feet high from top to bottom. The working press area was assigned to the center of level 5, with seating for 108. Level 4 was designated as Broadcast Center, named for Voice of the Vols broadcaster John Ward in 1995. The top two levels contained 39 leased skyboxes, each of which contained eight fixed and eight movable seats. The president’s, chancellor’s, and the board of trustees’ skyboxes were equipped with 32 fixed seats and the capacity to add up to 32 movable seats.