Dangerous conditions have resulted in Engel Stadium being locked up. Recently, the Tennessee Temple baseball team was told to get all of their equipment out of the stadium because it was going to be boarded up.
Staff Photo by Allison Carter/Chattanooga Times Free PressDeemed a hazard and a liability, the historic Engel Stadium in downtown Chattanooga has been boarded up and locked down by city officials, at least for the near future.
“The locks are changed, and it’s boarded up so that no one will have access to it anymore,” said Greg Bartley, coach of the Tennessee Temple University baseball team, the only team that still played at the dilapidated stadium.
“I’d say it’s a permanent thing unless somebody comes up with a couple million dollars to fix it up,” he said.
The much-beloved but extremely rundown stadium has been in ownership limbo for years, as the city and Hamilton County have worked to finalize a transfer of the stadium’s deed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said Larry Zehnder, director of the Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department.
But that transfer still is pending state approval, preventing UTC officials from undertaking the needed repairs and renovations, Zehnder said.