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Will Stadium Prompt Private Investment? Yes - It Already Has; Experts Predict Much More to Come

The publicly-owned stadium opened in mid-April to record-setting big crowds.

In the first few weeks, there's been lots of fan-experience dialogue - about brisket and local craft beers, about the exceptionally clean sight lines, about the wide inviting public plazas at the entrances, about the best parking and shuttle bus options.

You name it, it's been batted around (pun intended).

But now that the newness is subsiding a bit, some of the focus will shift to what many say is supremely important - the reason why the City and County invested in the stadium to begin with.

That is: Will the stadium generate private investment and create jobs? And, farther east from the stadium, will those economic opportunities happen along the Magnolia Avenue corridor?

April 2025 aerial view of the blocks east and north of Covenant Health Park

"The public-private investment in Covenant Health Park will create new jobs and wealth-building in East Knoxville," Mayor Indya Kincannon said last month.

"Just a few years ago, several city blocks between the Old City and East Knoxville had been a no-man's land - a mostly dilapidated, empty, abandoned area. That's all changed. We'll continue to see more and more private investment here."

Don't just take the Mayor's word for it.

City Communications talked with five local experts, all independent of the Mayor's administration.

Their consensus is: The long-term economic impact of the stadium and spin-off investment is likely to exceed the $480 million that an independent analysis estimated a few years ago.

One of the experts predicted that investment generated by the stadium will exceed that of the South Waterfront, which over a decade has totaled roughly $1 billion - that's "billion," with a B.

Check out this aerial view of the blocks surrounding the stadium, which shows some existing businesses but a lot of empty, developable lots:

Here is a summary of what these redevelopers, redevelopment advocates and champions of East Knoxville are saying:

Tim Hill
Co-founder and President, Hatcher-Hill Properties
Sports Authority board member
Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission chair
East Knox County native

Hill, whose Hatcher-Hill company specializes in urban redevelopment and restoring historic properties, has long been a promoter of creating more economic opportunity in East Knoxville. The stadium, he says, is pivotal to that aim.

Already, the Beauford Delaney Building condos and Yardley Flats apartments immediately adjacent to the stadium represent more than $115 million in private investment. Prominent developers with proven track records have spent tens of millions of dollars to purchase the mostly vacant blocks across from or east of the stadium.

"You know there's going to be redevelopment - near the stadium, and to the east," Hill said. "There's so much good infrastructure and untapped assets, we're going to see growth and investment eastward. So we need to strategically look for ways to encourage investment along Magnolia Avenue.

"We're in the infancy of a growth spurt. Any numbers we've heard - they're underestimated. Really, the sky is the limit."

Stephanie Welch
Executive Director, Youth Trekkers, Portland, ME
Former Deputy to Mayor Kincannon

"This is so exciting," said Welch, who took the City's lead on creating the stadium public-private partnership under Kincannon for 2.5 years, starting in 2020. "From the very beginning, this stadium has been about how to benefit the community."

It was Welch - a former City Council member from South Knoxville - who predicted the private investment in East Knoxville due to the stadium could eventually eclipse investment along the South Waterfront.

"The potential is huge," she said. "This helps shape the social fabric of the entire area - creating public spaces, more community pride, better connectivity.

"In fact, it will be impossible to completely measure the stadium's impact, because investment will defy boundaries. There will be a ripple effect out into the neighborhoods."

Gwen McKenzie
6th District City Council, representing East Knoxville and Downtown

McKenzie, the first African-American women to serve as Knoxville's Vice Mayor, has deep roots in East Knoxville. Her father was the first Executive Director of the Knoxville Area Urban League.

So when she says this is East Knoxville's time - and that the stadium will boost and accelerate reinvestment that's already happening - she speaks from decades of historical perspective.

"Over the next 10 to 12 years, the transformation of Magnolia Avenue will shock the city," McKenzie said. "Investment and redevelopment have already started.

"People see the vision. They remember when Magnolia was thriving, and there's a goldmine of opportunity."

The stadium connects downtown and Magnolia in a way that hasn't existed since pre-World War II streetcars ran on tracks the length of Magnolia, out to Chilhowee Park.

McKenzie points to big investments, and key anchors, along Magnolia - Emerald Youth Foundation's $20 million youth-development facility coming to an underused 13-acre City-owned tract across from Chilhowee Park, fronting on Magnolia, for example.

She also touts the City's $9 million Magnolia Avenue streetscape upgrades, a new $8 million Burlington fire station, and a next-door Burlington streetscape project.

Private investments include Jeffrey Nash's restoration of five stately but dilapidated historic buildings, and Phil Lawson's creation of the Grandiflora event venue.

"We're seeing the re-establishment of Magnolia - the result of private and public investment," McKenzie said. "The result will be new amenities, new opportunities, growth and jobs."

David Dewhirst
Owner, Dewhirst Properties, a downtown real-estate development company

Dewhirst - a pioneer and leader for decades in restoring downtown properties and bringing them back into reuse - said he is "bullish" about the potential for large investment in East Knoxville around the stadium.

But he cautions: It won't happen automatically.

"There are a ton of variables," said Dewhirst, who owns a 5.5-acre parcel behind Yardley Flats and co-owns another piece of property fronting on Jackson Avenue across from home plate. "Lots of folks are kicking the tires: What will the owners' costs of development be, and what (rents) will the market bear?"

The Yardley Flats apartment complex is a major investment, and rents will be on the high end of market rates. That property is one of the predictive bellwethers that other investors will be paying attention to, Dewhirst said.

If the stadium commercial district takes off, investment will follow along Magnolia Avenue and toward the Standard Knitting Mill property, Dewhirst predicted.

"Light to medium investment is already happening" on Magnolia, he said.

It's worth noting: Dewhirst Properties was one of the first to invest east of downtown by renovating old buildings with big windows and high ceilings into apartments. The 35-apartment Electric Co. Lofts at Willow and McCalla was restored by Dewhirst way back in 2014.

Whatever happens next, Dewhirst is certain that the stadium "was a huge step in the right direction."

"The area around the stadium has been vacant for a long time," he said. "No one was ever going to even look at this area if not for the stadium."

Alvin J. Nance
Chair, Sports Authority Board
CEO, LHP Development
Former Executive Director and CEO, Knoxville's Community Development Corp.

There already was a growing excitement and new opportunities for wealth-building in East Knoxville, Nance said. The stadium just adds to that momentum.

It starts with the value of houses. For most people, their biggest asset is their home.

"Housing in East Knoxville has appreciated significantly in value," Nance said. "There's not enough supply to meet demand, but there's more to it than that. People want to be in this area. The stadium is contributing to that. It's a big driver."

For one thing, having high-quality, unique amenities nearby helps build up neighborhoods. And increased property values builds wealth for long-time multi-generational families while also attracting new families to move in.

"That's a good thing," Nance said. "You want neighborhoods to grow. You want to see investment in your community. You bring in younger generations, additional voices, and your neighborhood - your schools - get stronger.

"My confidence level is high that, between Burlington and the stadium, it's going to fill in."

Posted by evreeland at 1:25 PM