KNOXVILLE
TENNESSEE
With the intention of bringing Minor League Baseball back to Knoxville, the City of Knoxville and Knox County started talks with Boyd Sports to build a multi-use, publicly owned stadium. In the final month of 2021, the city and county approved the plan to move forward with a new multi-use stadium. The stadium will host the AA team of the Chicago Cubs and serve as a catalyst for redevelopment in East Knoxville.
As part of this redevelopment, GEM Community Development Group, the private development partner to Boyd Sports, will undertake a major private development to complement the stadium.
Led by team owner, entrepreneur and successful businessman Randy Boyd – who has provided the land needed for the ballpark – the development group plans to rejuvenate an area of Knoxville that’s been overlooked for decades. GEM derives its name from East Knoxville’s historic Gem Theatre, a gathering point for the Black community that opened in 1913 and closed 50 years later.
The multi-use stadium will host the Smokies and other baseball events, concerts, festivals and even football and soccer. In addition, the stadium will include facilities to host business meetings, conferences, receptions, holiday parties and other year-round events. With the stadium facilities and a public plaza as a gathering place, it is anticipated the stadium can host hundreds of events a year. GEM's private development has attracted residential projects with restaurants and other entertainment and commercial uses anticipated as interest in the area surges.
Funding arrangements to build the 7,000-capacity, $114 million ballpark have come through a Sports Authority jointly formed by Knoxville and Knox County, with support from Knoxville, Knox County, the state of Tennessee and Boyd. The stadium will be publicly owned and will be leased to the baseball team for $1 million a year on typical industry terms.
In 1921, nearby Caswell Park hosted the first professional baseball game of a new team known as the Knoxville Pioneers. Almost 70 years ago in 1953, the City of Knoxville constructed a stadium that eventually became known as Bill Meyer Stadium adjacent to Caswell Park. Fans enjoyed professional baseball at that municipal facility for more than 45 years.We now can honor a century-old tradition of baseball in East Knoxville.
We put baseball back in our hometown – where it belongs.
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• Stay connected with the Sports Authority •
The Knoxville-Knox County Sports Authority will handle the funding, construction and management of the stadium. Click HERE for information and updates from the City of Knoxville. Click HERE for the Sports Authority's website.
• THE VISION •
GEM Community Development Group and Knoxville Area Urban League have partnered to ensure minority participation.
If you are interested in the proposed construction of a multi-use stadium and surrounding private development, click the button for more information.
THE SITE
Denark Construction has cameras onsite to document the build from start to finish. The solar-powered cameras are live again in 2023 with the start of construction and provide still images of updates that will be compiled for a time-lapse video.
Denark Construction installed cameras to capture the demolition of structures on the site, and that phase of the project is now complete.
Click the image arrow to see a time-lapse video on YouTube.
• THE HOT STOVE •
The Hot Stove is the name for the offseason as fans keep up with news, trades and free agent signings. In the game’s early days, people stayed warm around actual stoves to talk baseball. Part of the sport’s lore, it now has a page on MLB's website.
Click the images below to read our own Hot Stove updates about the stadium.
Champions are made here.
Baseball attendance boosted by promotions for all ages.
Ground officially broken; construction is underway.
Before and after site photos show transformation to come.
Issuance of $65 million in bonds gets approval.
Fluor Field in Greenville sparked downtown resurgence.
Stadium financing set; construction can move forward.
$70 million, 233-unit apartment complex on deck.
2023 will mark start of construction.
Christmas comes early for Cubs fans with Dansby Swanson signing.
A new stadium transformed Durham. Knoxville is ahead of the game.
Five takeaways from Knox News as stadium project moves forward.
Stadium project gets go-ahead for new financing plan.
Survey results say: Fund and build.
Finances, fun and site preparation.
Sneak peek of new renderings.
Collegiate Vol baseball tournament would draw fans to stadium.
Boyd Sports places two East Tennessee ballparks in ‘best’ finals.
Boyd Family Foundation helps fund new home with SEEED Knox.
Story of the Knoxville Giants will be captured at new stadium.
East Knoxville ballpark officially reopens for youth sports.
‘The Beauford Delaney Building’ to honor internationally acclaimed Knoxville artist.
Smokies name remains. Knoxville moniker returns.
Batter up Knoxville. Baseball is coming back.
Can stadium approval bat a thousand? County Commission, City Council on deck.
Mayor Indya Kincannon wholeheartedly supports new stadium construction.
If you build it, he will come.
Nightlife, game-day experience makes new stadium a ‘win-win.’
Realtor survey reveals majority support for new multi-use stadium.
Beck Cultural Exchange Center panel examines history, explores future
East Knoxville youth sports’ playing fields to get major upgrade.
South Carolina mayor to Knoxville: Build a baseball stadium.
Community benefits will ensure diversity and equality.
KAAR: ‘Simply an opportunity Knoxville cannot afford to miss.’
WATE: ‘Bases are loaded’ for Randy Boyd.
‘This project is about investing in our community.’
Minority firms and individuals integral to all aspects of private development.
Knoxville Area Association of Realtors backs ballpark legislation.
Parkview Field offers model for success.
‘Transformational’ project will change Knoxville landscape.
Minor league stadiums enrich and revitalize cities.
Formation of sports authority first step for a new stadium.
TV coverage circles the bases for stadium news.
Stay up to date. Follow Grand Slam Knox on Twitter.
Get a bird’s eye view.
Boyd Sports reveals plans.
Get on base
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