Montague Park taken ‘out of mothballs’

An old city softball field and park could soon rise again after being shut down for almost a decade.

Chattanooga and two partners are in the middle of renovating Montague Park, located at South Holtzclaw Avenue and East 23rd Street, creating a space that is half sculpture park and half rugby pitches.

“We’re creating about a $10 million park with two organizations,” said Larry Zehnder, the city’s administrator for Parks and Recreation.

He said he hopes at least one of the three rugby pitches will be usable by fall.

The idea is to get the park “out of mothballs” after it was closed in 2003 when state regulators found methane leaks in the ballfield. Montague Park lies on the site of a former city landfill.