A new Chattanooga Lookouts (Class AA; Southern League) ballpark could be an option for the proposed redevelopment of a former foundry site.
The location in question is a 141-acre site of the former Wheland/U.S. Pipe foundry off South Broad Street, which is at the center of discussionn for redevelopment. A project on that scope could mean not only the construction of a new ballpark, but the potential for surrounding mixed-use development.
The Lookouts are owned by Hardball Capital, an organization that under Jason Freier has carried two other notable ballpark projects in recent years–Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field and Columbia’s Spirit Communciations Park, and development has taken place around both venues since their respective openings in 2009 and 2016. Some believe that a ballpark at the former foundry site in Chattanooga has similar potential, but the city’s mayor is emphasizing that community feedback is going to be a major part of the process when it comes to planning the location’s future. More from The Times Free Press:
“We’d welcome it on our site,” said Chattanooga businessman Gary Chazen on Wednesday, comparing a potential new baseball and mixed-use complex there with what the Atlanta Braves erected as part of its new park in Cobb County, Ga.
That idea is likely to come up today when stakeholders in a 10-square-block area around South Broad gather for the first of two meetings that are expected to guide the area’s future.
Mayor Andy Berke, who took an hour-long walk-through of the former Wheland/U.S. Pipe foundry parcel on Wednesday, said the concept of a possible new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium is why city officials and others want to hear from citizens.
“It’s certainly a site where you could see entertainment, but we need to hear from the community about what they want,” he said.
The Lookouts play at AT&T Field, a ballpark that opened in 2000 but lacks many of the amenities fans have come to expect at today’s facilities, such as a wraparound concourse and modern group areas and social spaces.
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