Fans of Chattanooga Football Club soccer, at least temporarily, will have to cheer their team from Finley Stadium’s visiting stands.
The south stands will be closed for the next several weeks as the premium seating is replaced at the facility built in 1997. Finley Stadium executive director Chris Thomas announced in early December that 3,469 seats were being removed and that 1,566 seats that are two inches wider were being ordered.
Thomas said at Tuesday’s Stadium Corp. meeting that the seats were ordered shortly after the meeting early last month.
“The new seats are scheduled to be delivered in early April, and there is a two-week installation period,” Thomas said. “We hope to have all of the seats in place by May 1.”
Thomas announced last month that bench seats would make up most of the difference from the premium-seat sections that are not being replaced. The new seating plan also includes an enhanced handicap area and will result in a total drop of 256 seats, which is taking the stadium’s capacity from 20,668 to 20,412.