Two seasons into his role as managing partner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, Jason Freier recognized there were significant drawbacks to AT&T Field, the 6,340-seat downtown facility that has housed the storied Class AA franchise since 2000.
“This ballpark had certain design flaws the day that it opened,” Freier told the Times Free Press in October 2016. “The biggest one is the orientation, and the reason we have a harder time in July and August compared to April and May is very attributable to that orientation. Many teams have the best part of their season during that time because the kids are out of school, and the fact that it’s harder for us is because the sun angle that causes us the issues there.
“We’re having to work around the design problems that are inherent to the ballpark.”
Those comments transpired four years before a new sheriff arrived.
(READ MORE: Here’s the estimated cost for a new Lookouts stadium in Chattanooga)