KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Builders have finished installing the roof, the ductwork and some sheetrock on Knoxville's downtown stadium, ahead of an April 2025 first pitch.
Mohamed Abbas, a project manager at Denark Construction, said the suite and party deck level is fully framed, and the ductwork is complete. Developers opted for a wooden roof, an upgrade.
"A few layers of wood that are splined together and then laminated together," Abbas said.
Abbas said the ductwork will be exposed on the top level. Crews have finished placing drywall in the visitor dugout and they're a couple of months away from beginning the process to build the field, Abbas said.
Last month, the federal government awarded Knoxville with a $42.6 million reconnecting communities grant. With it, Knoxville city leaders said they will be able to update the parking lot next to the stadium, under James White Parkway.
The city will not remove parking from that lot, said Eric Vreeland, the Knoxville Deputy Director of Communications. Instead, Vreeland said, they'll update the parking lot.
"The area will still be used for parking with some redesign to incorporate pedestrian safety features and landscaping," Vreeland said in an email.
Vreeland said city leaders should have more specifics in the fall. Abbas said the stadium has seen some upgrades from the original design. The Tennessee-shaped scoreboard is one.
The latest cost estimate for the stadium's construction is $116 million. Knoxville and Knox County have agreed to contribute a total of $65 million. Smokies' owner Randy Boyd has agreed to cover any cost overruns for the downtown stadium.
Once it's complete, the stadium will be public property. The Smokies have agreed to lease it from the city and the county for $1 million a year.