To listen to arguments on both sides of the Chattanooga Lookouts Southside stadium issue, one would think the issue is simply black and white.
Moving ahead with a mostly publicly funded baseball stadium on former foundry sites between Interstate 24 and South Broad Street is either the most incomprehensibly stupid idea ever conceived or is the best idea to rid the city of the eyesore in the gateway to Chattanooga and jump-start development in the blighted area.
We think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but it is what is in the middle that will determine whether the project moves ahead.
Timing is the most critical factor in play.
City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County officials would like to have a sports authority board that essentially would own the stadium and a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement in place before Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger leaves office on Sept. 1 – less than two months away.