Over the past three decades, Chattanooga has added four new sports stadiums and is looking at expanding and building another two. Collectively, the baseball, softball, soccer and football stadiums have or are projected to cost, in total, more than $150 million in a town without a major league professional or top-tiered college team.
To generate revenue for the new arenas for minor league baseball, USL League One soccer, National Independent Soccer Association, and local college and high school teams, many of these venues have sold the naming rights for the stadiums to corporate sponsors. In exchange for such corporate sponsorship, a business gets its logo plastered over the venue, usually gets multiple media references during games and often picks up goodwill from sports fans and community leaders.
AT&T, which took over the former BellSouth Corp. in 2007, put its name on the Lookouts Stadium on Hawk Hill downtown in 2007. Formerly BellSouth Park, AT&T Field is a privately funded facility. The 6,100-seat stadium opened in April 2000. In addition to serving as the home of the Lookouts, AT&T Field hosts other community events.
“AT&T has a strong heritage of giving back to the communities we serve,” David Scobey, president and CEO for AT&T Southeast, said in 2007 when AT&T took over the stadium name from BellSouth.
A decade and a half later, the nation’s biggest telephone company still has its name on AT&T Stadium, which enjoys a prominent site adjacent to Highway 27 through downtown Chattanooga.