The new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium and surrounding special tax district will produce nearly $3.9 million of revenue over and above what’s needed to pay off debt for the project this year, according to a presentation from the city Thursday.
The surplus is thanks to a fund to cover the first few years of interest payments that was set aside when the city and county issued bonds in 2024. The extra money will carry over to 2027, when the city expects a $670,000 surplus after paying off debt. The estimates are conservative, said Charita Allen, the city’s top economic development adviser, who presented to the joint city-county Sports Authority board.
Erlanger Park will open April 14 for the minor league baseball team’s first home game in the new stadium off South Broad Street. Developers and the surrounding landowners predict the stadium will be the catalyst for $1 billion or more of private development, which will help pay for the stadium.
(READ MORE: Erlanger Park dedicated as ‘I-told-you-so’ project for Chattanooga)
“From an economic development lens, the development in the district is doing exactly what it was supposed to do,” Allen said in an interview after the meeting. “The stadium has driven some of that development, and the building of the stadium is driving additional activity in the district.”