As a new minor league ballpark takes shape on Chattanooga’s Southside, city leaders say they’re taking steps to ensure a large percentage of the work goes to local contractors and businesses owned by marginalized groups.
Officials have a goal of awarding nearly $23 million to disadvantaged businesses, according to a presentation delivered to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Sports Authority on Thursday. That’s 30% of the $76 million allocated to construction manager EMJ Construction, which is working with a series of subcontractors on the project.
“We’ve definitely done better on this project than any I have ever worked on, and that’s largely due to the efforts that EMJ has put in to finding and connecting with those folks,” Chattanooga’s city engineer, Bill Payne, said in a phone call.
About 13% of the work has been awarded to enterprises like woman-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned and small businesses, although that number will very likely hit 23% once more companies move through the certification process, he said. That’s equal to about $17.5 million.
Officials aim to maximize local, minority contractors at new Chattanooga Lookouts ballpark
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“That’s a significantly higher number than we ordinarily see,” Payne said about the percentage.
Officials are also trying to maximize the number of local businesses working on the stadium. About 79% of the work, or $60 million, has gone to contractors located within 150 miles of the new ballpark, and 42%, or $32 million, from within 15 miles, Payne said.
On Thursday, members of the Sports Authority donned reflective vests and hard hats for a tour of the construction site, where crews are building a new $115 million multiuse stadium for the Chattanooga Lookouts.
The project remains on budget and on time for an April 2026 completion, officials said. It will replace the Lookouts’ existing ballpark on Hawk Hill in downtown Chattanooga.
Andy Stone, a partner with landowner Perimeter Properties, said the outfield walls are now 90% complete, and the concourse has been built up to its final elevation. Work will start on underground utilities for the food hall, team offices and other multipurpose spaces, he said.
Once complete, an entry corridor will lead people past the team store and a building called the Powerhouse, which dates back to 1882 and will be incorporated into the stadium. Another old structure called the Pattern Shop will hold meeting space and the Lookouts offices. Crews have carved out a dirt bowl where the field will sit.
The new ballpark will sit on about 10 acres of the larger U.S. Pipe/Wheland Foundry property, a 140 acre parcel in Chattanooga’s South Broad District.
For about a century, Wheland and U.S. Pipe were among Chattanooga’s key manufacturers and a reason why the city earned the nickname “the Dynamo of Dixie.” However, Wheland went bankrupt in November 2002 and shut down in March 2003 after 136 years in operation. In 2006, U.S. Pipe closed after more than a century of production in Chattanooga.
Many of the old structures remain and are now being integrated into the stadium project. Officials hope to preserve those stories.
“There were thousands of jobs that were here when these facilities operated,” Stone said. “Thousands of people will get to come and experience what those workers did in the past and how many people came through these doors. These facilities operated for a very long time.”
New tax revenue created in an approximately 450-acre district around the new stadium will cover a significant portion of the construction cost. However, new tax revenue generated in that zone will continue to flow to schools.
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City leaders have said the ballpark could spur more than $1 billion in new development in and around the foundry land. Jim Irwin, who Perimeter Properties hired to act as the parcel’s master developer, has announced a $100 million project next to the stadium. He has previously said the proposed development would hold 300 apartments as well as offices, retail space and parking.
The $76 million contract with EMJ represents the bulk of construction, Payne said, although the total budget for the stadium is about $115 million. Stone and his partners are assisting with site preparation, Payne said, and the team is supplying materials and equipment like netting, seats, foul poles and the stadium’s video scoreboard. That makes up a significant portion of the remaining balance of the stadium cost, he said.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.