Knoxville — The Tennessean Personal Luxury Hotel officially dedicated its Pat Summitt Suite today, Sept. 20.
The suite is designed to honor the Tennessee Lady Vols iconic coach and to benefit the Pat Summitt Foundation, which raises funds to support Alzheimer's patients, caregivers and clinical research.
A portion of all room rates from this suite will be donated to the Pat Summitt Foundation.
Pat Summitt Suite dedicated at Tennessean Hotel
"We wanted to honor the late Pat Summitt in a way that would be lasting and appropriate for an iconic coach and native Tennessean who did so much for Knoxville and the University of Tennessee," said Nicholas Cazana, innkeeper at the Tennessean Hotel.
Heather King, who also designed the Pat Summitt Clinic at the UT Medical Center, headed the suite's interior design and made sure it celebrated Summitt's legacy.
- Wood elements on seating and light fixtures represent a wooden basketball court.
- A wall graphic in the entry way outlines Summitt's basketball accomplishments.
- The sofa is upholstered to resemble a basketball net in orange and white fabric from Luna Textiles, whose founder, Anna Hernandez, lost her battle with Alzheimer's on Oct. 30, 2016.
- Another graphic element lists Summitt's "Definite Dozen" rules for success.
- There are also several photos depicting different events from her coaching career.