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Traffic studied to avoid game-day gridlock at Chattanooga Lookouts new stadium

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Construction continues at the location of the planned Chattanooga Lookouts stadium on Dec. 4, 2024. Officials said they're trying to understand future traffic patterns to avoid problems.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Construction continues at the location of the planned Chattanooga Lookouts stadium on Dec. 4, 2024. Officials said they're trying to understand future traffic patterns to avoid problems. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Construction continues at the location of the planned Chattanooga Lookouts stadium on Dec. 4, 2024. Officials said they're trying to understand future traffic patterns to avoid problems.

By Mike Pare 4 min read

With thousands of Chattanooga Lookouts fans expected to be driving to the new stadium in just over a year, officials are trying to avert gridlock in a part of the city many motorists have had little reason to visit in decades.

City Engineer Bill Payne said Thursday that Chattanooga’s transportation team met with state officials Wednesday to help understand the traffic impact of the $115 million stadium on the South Broad District with a planned early 2026 opening.

“It’s a ripple in a pond. It has more impact closer, but it’s still felt further out,” Payne said in an interview after a Chattanooga-Hamilton County Sports Authority meeting. “Geographically, it’s larger than a typical traffic study.”

(READ MORE: Stadium groundbreaking draws hundreds)

At the Lookouts current home on the city’s riverfront, builders of AT&T Field more than 20 years ago depended almost entirely on downtown’s existing parking network.