Merrill Eckstein is executive director of Finley Stadium and Davenport Field.Merrill Eckstein said he needed one more challenge in his life when he left the Greater Chattanooga Sports & Events Committee after 17 years to become Finley Stadium’s executive director in June 2009.
That final challenge may not be at the halfway point.
Eckstein and Stadium Corp. chairman Bryan Patten have negotiated an agreement that would keep Eckstein operating the 20,668-seat home of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team three more years through May 31, 2014. The board will have the opportunity to review and decide whether to approve the letter of understanding at today’s scheduled Stadium Corp. meeting.
“Merrill, in my view, is just absolutely perfect for the job that he’s performing,” Patten said. “He doesn’t mind working alone, and he doesn’t require a lot of supervision. He is completely honest. He loves what he’s doing.
“I am pleased that Merrill is interested in working for three more years with the possibility that in the third year we would identify a likely successor and that he might diminish his involvement.”