KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Sunsphere, Knoxville's glimmering icon in the heart of the downtown area, will start welcoming visitors inside its new welcome center Wednesday morning.
Officials are set to cut the ribbon on the new welcome center at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, amid a celebration to mark the end of a months-long construction process. The celebration will feature complimentary Sunsphere cookies as well as the Budweiser Clydesdales, a group of horses used in promotions and advertisements.
The new welcome center is located on the third floor of The Sunsphere, accessible from Clinch Avenue. Inside, people can find brochures and information about the structure and Knoxville as a whole. They can also purchase tickets to venture up inside The Sunsphere and peruse some Knoxville-themed memorabilia.
The new entrance canopy is also topped with solar panels, meant as a nod to the 1982 World's Fair which led to the construction of The Sunsphere. Its theme was "Energy Turns the World."
Tickets to the Sunsphere will be $10 per person and $5 per child (12 and under), and military veterans can get $1 off with their military ID.
