Knoxville stadium construction on schedule after year of work

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The $114-million multiuse stadium that will alter the Knoxville skyline next year is on track for its planned spring opening after more than a year of construction work.

Ground was broken at the East Knoxville site near the Old City in June 2023. On Monday, the city released the first construction update since April when the project crossed the halfway point.

All stadium roofing is now installed and 80 percent of the terraced concrete seating sections that will support seating have now been poured.

The grand staircase on the west end of the stadium is beginning to take shape. When completed, it will serve as entrance from a yet-to-be-constructed public plaza that will be 10 feet longer than Market Square.

In all, visitors will be able to enjoy four public plazas outside the stadium.

Locker rooms, concession stands, and luxury suites are in the process of being framed out while red brick continues to stadium buildings along Jackson Avenue. These buildings will house the Smokies team store and ticketing windows in addition to retail or restaurant space.

The stadium will feature 7,500 seats, create an estimated 400 jobs, and will be the home of Smokies baseball, One Knoxville SC games and many other events. The target completion date to have the stadium finished is March 25, 2025.

Privately-funded housing developments along the first and third base lines are progressing. Leasing of the 233-unit Yardley Flats apartment building on the third-base side could start by late 2024. Vertical construction of the Beauford Delaney building , a nine-story condo building with street-level retail, continues on the first-base side.

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