There's a new name and signage for one of Chattanooga's downtown icons and the gathering place for everything from the Sunday Chattanooga Market to the pre-game festivities before the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football games.
The former Ross-Meehan Foundry that was converted into an open-air pavilion next to Finley Stadium more than three decades ago has been renamed the First Horizon Pavilion.
The new name reflects the changed name plate on the sponsoring business for the pavilion - First Horizon Bank, formerly First Tennessee Bank.
Chattanooga's biggest bank has the naming rights for the pavilion on Carter Street. The Memphis-based bank renamed its bank from First Tennessee to First Horizon last fall.
First Tennessee's parent company, First Horizon Corp., acquired the former Capital Bank in North Carolina and Florida in 2018 and the new name better reflects the expanding horizon of the bank, officials said.
Visitors to the newly branded First Horizon Pavilion will see new banners hung throughout the structure as well as new external signage.
"We love the fact that the First Horizon Pavilion is the weekly gathering place for visitors throughout the region," said Jay Dale, the Chattanooga market president for First Horizon. "From serving as the hub for weekly events like the Chattanooga Market to hosting tailgating for fans attending UTC Mocs' and Chattanooga Football Club games, the First Horizon Pavilion will continue to be the place Chattanoogans gather."
The unofficial opening for the 2020 season of events at the pavilion will occur in April in conjunction of the Four Bridges Arts Festival, which is presented by the bank and held at the pavilion.