Bryan Patten, who assisted the late Gordon Davenport with the vision and the reality of what is now Finley Stadium, is stepping down from the Stadium Corp. board of directors after more than 20 years.
Tuesday marked Patten's final Stadium Corp. meeting.
"It's not enough to say, 'Thank you,'" board chairman Gordon Davenport Jr. said. "Bryan has displayed leadership and a dead-honest passion for Finley Stadium, and his wheelhouse has been with the UTC programs."
Davenport presented Patten with recognition from the city of Chattanooga for his years of service.
Patten became Finley Stadium's board chairman in June 2006, when Mocs football was an annual debacle and the Chattanooga Football Club was still three years away from beginning its current 11-year run in the National Premier Soccer League. The birth of the CFC coupled with the arrival of Russ Huesman as the UTC football coach and B.J. Coleman as its quarterback in 2009 gave the 20,668-seat facility consistent local crowds that had not existed before.
The Mocs averaged 5,748 fans in 2008 but have since surpassed 10,000 five times, while the CFC played before a staggering audience of 18,227 in 2015 during the NPSL title match against New York Cosmos B.
"It took years for this to be validated, but it has now been validated in spades," Patten said. "I just feel good about this transition and the involvement I've had in making this facility become a reality. I am touched by all this. I thought I would just be walking out the door."
Carolyn Colbert, who has organized the Stadium Corp. meetings for years, also was recognized by the board.
Patten served as board chairman until November 2016, when Davenport took over, but Tuesday marked Davenport's last meeting with the gavel in hand. That responsibility now rests with current vice chair Mike Davis, who has overseen capital projects at the facility for several years.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.