More people moving to Hamilton County should help spur future growth around a new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium without hurting downtown, some business and government leaders said.
But concerns exist over whether the foundry project will siphon energy and investment from the central city.
Last week, the city and county revealed plans for using public and private money for a multi-use stadium, financed by the sale of 30-year bonds for $79.4 million in the South Broad District. Including donated land, the project estimated by officials from $89 million to $94 million is envisioned to ultimately spur more than $1 billion in nearby private investment on the old U.S. Pipe-Wheland Foundry site.
Keith Sanford, the Tennessee Aquarium’s president and chief executive, said Chattanooga is growing “at a pretty good clip,” citing gains over the past few years.
Sanford said the heightened desire of people to live downtown, and the surge in the number of new residences which have gone up and are in the pipeline, also will pull people from the suburbs.