Rev. Renee Kesler about the importance of black history in the Covenant Health Park
Rev. Renee Kesler talks about the late Bob Booker and the importance of black history in the Covenant Health Park on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
- Two local companies, Design Innovation Architects and Barbermcmurray, have teamed up to design the Covenant Health Park with a view of the community.
- Apparently small details such as brick and roof materials contribute to the general feeling of the stadium, designers said.
- By creating a room that is “activated almost around the clock”, the design teams moved out a stadium that sets a new standard.
Every design selection in the Covenant Health Park, such as the color of the seats in which fans observe the Knoxville Smokies or a Knoxville SC game, came after hours of considerations between designers and architects.
In the case of the seats, the team decided between 12 rehearsals, said the interior designer Aimee Yarbrough.
“The original intention was that they would be green to remember the Cubs' Wrigley field because (the tuxies) are connected to the Cubs,” Yarbrough, director of interior design at Design Innovation Architects, told Knox News. “When everyone came together, we felt that the gray was the better choice for this stadium.”
The design for the Multi -use Stadium in the old town mainly met in 2019 when designers and architects met with investors and the Knoxville Smokies team owner Randy Boyd for a massive brainstorming meeting in the design Innovation Architects Office in the Gay Street.
A week later, the designers turned into complete concepts into complete concepts, and the finished product is not far away from the original plan.
Design Innovation Architects formed a 50/50 -Joint Venture with Knoxville's Barbermcmurray architects called Gem Associated Architects after the Gem Theater, the main cinema for the black community of the city before integration. Like so many other East Knoxville test stones, the theater was demolished during the urban distance.
The local designers wanted the new stadium to open on April 15, the character of the old town and at the same time revitalized a once lively part of Knoxville.
“I am only happy about how it is in the urban structure that is already there,” Scott Falvey, director of historical preservation at Design Innovation Architects, told Knox News. “I want people to feel good when they cross a little further to East Knoxville and develop this part of the city and see an opportunity out there beyond the stadium.”
Boyd selected Populous to a leading international design company with specialist knowledge in baseball stages in order to be consulted over the entire process of Gem -Association architects. The populated project team already uses it as an example of other cities, said Kelly Headden, Chief Operating Officer at Barbermcmurray.
“This stadium will probably set a new standard for the Minor League stadiums in the USA,” Headden told Knox News. “It is not just a baseball with development.
Over its variety of nature, five elements of the stadium's design are a new standard.
The color palette of the stadium is smoky – not blue and red
The smokies, a double A partner of the Cubs, wear blue and red. But the stadium designers looked at the color palette of the structure itself.
“The Smoky Mountains were inspiration for the palette,” said Yarbrough. “We didn't want to concentrate fully on the team colors.”
The 130-foot Tennesse-shaped scoreboard includes the colors of the team, which can also be found in the changing room and on two bear mascot, Knox and Jackson. Fans can also buy many blue and red team goods.
A gray palette helps the stadium to integrate themselves in its surroundings and pay homage to the Smoky Mountains. The signs around the stadium show mountain motifs and the various roof angles come together to form a mountain scene around the event location.
Find the exact right brick for the Old City Stadium
A certain building material had to be just the right thing for the stadium to add the historic old town: its brick.
“I cannot tell you how many brick inserts and colored systems we have through and went through with Randy (Boyd), just to make sure that we have exactly the right stuff that fits into the rest of the community,” said Headden.
The choice of the right brick meant that designers sometimes stood on old streets with various bricks to compare them with the other buildings of the neighborhood, said Yarbrough.
“I think it will feel so lively and funny,” she said.
No new parking space for the stadium was intended
The Covenant Health Park will have 1,100 dedicated parking spaces as soon as the city converted the old town of northern and southern properties to reserved parking spaces on play days, but none of them are new. Designers wanted to use existing parking spaces and encourage people to spend time in other rooms in the city center.
“The city designers insisted that there were no significant parking spaces with the stadium,” said Headden. “You really want people to park and walk through their city and pass mom and pop restaurants and retail.”
There are 15,000 parking spaces in a 20-minute walk from the stadium and 7,000 jobs within 10 minutes on foot from the stadium, said Headden. The stadium has 6,355 seats.
The Transit of Knoxville Area offers Ticketholders on the game days of four garages in the city center Free Shuttle service:
- Langley garage
- Locust Street Garage
- Market Square Garage
- Summer Place Garage
Yellow pine roof gives the stadium heat
According to data, which was shared by Knox News by Construction Manager Denark, the crews have installed 45,674 square foot yellow pine roof into the stadium.
The unique pine came from Alabama and saved 15 tons of steel. It also captures carbon emissions, offers insulation and designers enabled not to build blankets in several places.
“A warmth and a character adds,” said Headden. “It is really a very sustainable, green product and gives the rooms a wonderful, nice feeling there.”
The pine taught structure was part of the design from the start and was 15% cheaper than the steel alternative. Although it is a new concept for construction projects in Knoxville, the stadium design team is of the opinion that wood roof becomes more common.
Recordable hill, 360 Concourse are deeds of engineering
From their earliest conversations about the stadium, the local designers and engineers wanted a room resident every day, including those who live in condominiums and apartments with a view of the field.
In order to get the stadium for football games and concerts up and running, the design in the hill of a retractable pitcher, one of only one handful in the nation took into account.
“For nobody it is obvious that it is what it is, but it was another step to make sure that this facility is customizable for football, concerts and other events,” said Yarbrough. “The entire development is activated almost around the clock.”
From April 15, the residents of Knoxville can enjoy another unique feature: a 360-degree hall that makes the scope of the Walkable stadium. The hall is still a special performance when you consider that the crews have received first creek, which runs through the website's footprint.
Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter that focuses on technology and energy. E -Mail: daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com. Signal: @Danieldassow.24.
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