Durham Bulls changed downtown. Can Smokies stadium change Knoxville?
Durham Bulls Athletic Park transformed its city. As downtown Knoxville’s baseball stadium moves ahead, what can Randy Boyd’s Tennessee Smokies learn?
Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel
Against the advice of the Smokies stadium construction manager, I blinked. In a few short days following my behind-the-scenes tour of the site, a bridge was installed to close the circle on the concourse that will be open to fans year-round.
The site is always changing. And if all goes well, the stadium will be a bridge itself, linking downtown with Black neighborhoods to the east that historically have been disconnected from the center of the city – and whose residents should feel ownership of the taxpayer-funded stadium, along with the rest of Knoxville.
Despite some pushback from community members who think a publicly funded stadium is not in their best interest, the project pushed forward with a promise that Knoxville’s Black history would be incorporated in the project and the stadium would offer jobs to diverse businesses and workers – jobs that didn’t exist when the stadium site was nothing more than a mound of dirt.
In meeting with Doug Kirchhofer, CEO of Tennessee Smokies owner Boyd Sports, I learned more about how that promise will play out. For one, the team is working to license apparel and souvenirs honoring the Knoxville Giants, a Negro League team that played here in the 1920s and ‘30s. The stadium also has entrances in all directions, signaling to fans that all are welcome.
Don’t like baseball? I got an early look at the 5,200-square-foot club area that can host holiday parties, family reunions and business meetings. I saw something similar during my reporting trip to Durham, North Carolina, where a baseball stadium has been serving downtown since the ‘90s.
During that trip, my hunch was confirmed by Durham Bulls staff: Fewer and fewer people are visiting the ballpark to actually watch the game. Minor league stadiums, in particular, have become more like social hubs where fans can grab a drink, meet with friends and, in the case of children, be inspired by glowing fireworks and the superhero athleticism of aspiring pros on the field.
Baseball brings people together, and a lot of life conversations are to be had between pitches (though new rules have sped up the game in recent years).
Another thing I learned in Durham: A stadium like this needs more parking than you might imagine. And that’s the source of another Knoxville criticism, though a parking study initiated by the team shows 7,675 parking spaces exist within a half-mile of the stadium, which will hold roughly 6,600 people.
Like a struggling pitcher, you can expect the Smokies to have some trouble with the curve – the learning curve, that is. It’s not a criticism. Hosting baseball in an urban environment vs. the silo that is Smokies Stadium in Kodak is an entirely different task that is sure to come with unexpected challenges.
But considering the hardworking initiative of downtown businesses, the passion of downtown residents and the available amenities, from public transportation to ride-sharing services, solutions will be invented. They’ll have to be if the stadium is going to anchor a new district people want to visit for years to come.
Certainly, the demographics of fans will change. The people who enjoy the luxury of a wide-open parking lot and the seclusion of a Kodak stadium won’t get that same experience just east of the Old City. On the flip side, people who don’t think it’s worth it to drive to Sevier County for a baseball game without nearby extracurriculars will be drawn to all that a downtown stadium offers.
Whichever bucket you’re in, remember: The first home game is April 15, and yes that’s Tax Day, an ironic scheduling decision to those who pushed back against the stadium in the first place.
But with the project now set in stone and just a few months away from opening, let April 15 serve as a reminder that the stadium is yours. The Smokies just play there.
Ryan Wilusz is the growth and development editor. Phone 865-317-5138. Email ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Instagram @knoxscruff.
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