KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Another open house will be held Aug. 7 for the public to learn about the proposed downtown Knoxville stadium.
The gathering will be 10 a.m.-noon at the Knoxville Expo Center at 5441 Clinton Highway.
City and county staff will be there along with Sports Authority board members and people who are involved in the project. They'll offer exhibits and respond to any questions the public might have.
Dozens of people turned out for the first block party, Saturday, July 17, at the site east of the Old City below the James White Parkway.
Entrepreneur Randy Boyd wants to build a stadium near Jackson and Willow avenues that would host his Double AA baseball team as well as concerts and other sporting events. The team would pay rent as part of covering stadium costs.
The construction cost is expected to be around $65 million.
At the same time, Boyd is leading an investment group that intends to build some $140 million in surrounding private development that would include residential and commercial buildings. Boyd told WBIR on Monday there might even be a grocery store on or near the site.
Boyd bought and cleared the site in preparation for construction.
The stadium would be built through a combination of funding including $13.5 million already set aside by Gov. Bill Lee, sales tax proceeds from sales inside the structure, non-property tax revenues from the city and county, and perhaps a financing plan called a payment in lieu of taxes or PILOT.
The stadium project has several procedural hurdles to clear. Plans call for the Knox County Commission and Knoxville City Council to give final blessings by the end of the year; it's hoped baseball could be played there starting in 2024.
