KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Officials announced that the new downtown Knoxville stadium will be named Covenant Health Park.
Boyd Sports reached a 20-year sponsorship agreement with the Knoxville-based health system. On Wednesday, the stadium's logo was released.
“We are grateful to Covenant Health for partnering with us in this transformational venture,” said Randy Boyd, CEO of Boyd Sports. “Covenant Health Park will be a space that brings our community together and drives the continued growth and revitalization of Knoxville. This stadium is not just about sports; it’s about creating a vibrant place that will serve as a cornerstone for East Tennessee’s future.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Boyd and Covenant CEO Jim VanderSteeg talked about why they decided to forge a long-term partnership on the stadium. The two said they believed the mission of the stadium and Covenant Health had a lot in common when it comes to wellness and health.
"This a baseball field but it's a whole lot more," VanderSteeg said. "People are pursuing wellness and health. That matches up so well with our mission."
Knox County Commissioners toured the stadium on Tuesday. Some said it was their first time seeing progress since the groundbreaking.
"I've seen an amazing project come to fruition. I remember how hard it was to get everybody on board and the amount of work that it took to get this vision manifested. So I'm just grateful to see all the hard work and the workers in there. Really this is about serving our community," said Dasha Lundy, Knox County District 1 Commissioner.
At-Large Seat 10 Commissioner Larsen Jay even commented on the current and future partnerships at the downtown stadium.
"It's exciting to see the investment in the downtown project, whether it's the title sponsor or anybody who buys a suite or anybody who buys an individual ticket or has any kind of sponsorship, it just shows a commitment from the community that they're willing to invest in something that's going to be so transformative," said Jay.
Lundy said it feels good to bring the stadium back to the area after former City Councilman Danny Mayfield pushed for it before he passed away.
"The stadium used to be in our community a long time ago and a former city councilman, Danny Mayfield, who passed away years ago, had a lot of respect in the community, really fought for this, for the stadium to stay. So I hope he's proud of the work that's been done to bring it back to the community," said Lundy.
"There is going to be some new business that we didn't have just having that stadium of that nature in a downtown setting, and the fact that baseball will be being played here and not up the interstate is going to be a fantastic boon to downtown Knoxville," said Kim Bumpas, with Visit Knoxville.
The stadium, located in the Old City, is set to open in 2025 and is the new home of the Tennessee Smokies, which will be renamed the Knoxville Smokies upon the team's move to the city.
Covenant Health Park will also host One Knoxville SC of the United Soccer League, a variety of concerts, festivals and community events.
