Part 2: Chattanooga FC Should Move Out On Its Own and Into Historic Engel Stadium
By: Unsigned Author II
Like the first Unsigned Author, I am a big fan of Chattanooga FC. I have no direct link with the team, or a stake in any of the groups mentioned in this article. I want to simply see the success of CFC carried into the professional leagues — and I believe that a new stadium for CFC could redefine success as a professional organization.
The first Unsigned Author has it right in so many ways — the finances and timing are right for Chattanooga FC to be looking at options other than Finley Stadium. A quick search around the city for a place to new place to play will yield some potential areas, but one blatantly obvious location that’s ready for sports again. I’m talking of course about the the place where professional sports took hold in Chattanooga — Historic Engel Stadium.
In the previous article, that author explored the wonderful and surprisingly affordable modular stadium options on the market right now. After the mega-stadium splurges of 10 to 20 years ago (or if you’re in Atlanta, 2017), the new stadium market is moving towards economical options. To small and mid-size cities, this is a step forward, allowing nice but adaptable venues that won’t ruin city finances. To teams looking to own their own facility and get out from under the municipal microscope, they’re a godsend.
Once arriving at the decision point however, that a brand new modular stadium is a great path for Chattanooga FC, there are quick stumbling blocks that should be major cause for concern. The largest of these concerns are, “where could I build that?” and “how do I get that land?” Great land is available — for the right price — and the City does not appear to be granting a financial boost to future sports venues. Less desirable open space might be affordable, but what would your realtor say about that?
Engel Stadium is sitting prime and ready to go in a rising part of town, but the stadium’s vacancy and unfortunate neglect are more baggage than most want to take on. Everyone wants Engel saved, and it lies right in the City of Chattanooga’s 3rd Street Revitalization project scope.
Now is the time for Chattanooga FC to rescue Engel Stadium and return it to it’s former glory and become the landmark everyone has believed in. Engel Stadium will make a worthy, custom home for Chattanooga FC, and a sound investment in the community for years to come.
The Huge Civic Stadium Downtown — The Solution of the 90s
Many fantasies about new stadiums include a beautiful vision: being nestled in downtown, or on the riverfront, or being part of a new city sponsored stadium/entertainment district. These are powerful thought, based in an old reality. Over the years, cities have been lining up to throw money at sports teams with the goal of anchoring business and tourism to downtown development and kickstart the old heart of the city.
In fact, most of us recall that the reason for Engel Stadium’s current vacancy is that the City of Chattanooga did just this with a sweet land-lease deal of Hawk Hill. The cheap lease enabled the Chattanooga Lookouts to put their money directly into construction of AT&T Field. The project was completed in 1999, and AT&T became another big civic compliment to the Riverwalk and Aquariums. As Downtown Chattanooga has blossomed since, history will call this development a part of the successful tourist revitalization.
However, City sponsorship of the current field has run its course. The Lookouts appear to be looking elsewhere as both the team and city lack interest in renewing current arrangements. The city wants its land back for newer, bigger projects in the high-growth Riverfront District. The team realized that in hurried stadium construction, mistakes were made, and the stadium never lived the life it should have. It was a good arrangement while it lasted. Everyone benefited and will part ways as friends.
In other words, the City already sponsored a stadium Downtown, and has moved past that development. The City of Chattanooga will not be giving away future land downtown. They will not be paying cash to help someone build a new stadium on the Riverfront. There won’t be any brand new entertainment districts downtown that need a sports arena.
There are still some open plots available in the city, or ones that are prepared to be upzoned, but the booming economy of Chattanooga’s Downtown (or Southside/Northshore) will command a price premium from a developer or from the City. CFC could end up with an oddsized plot, or one with a few, erm…issues stemming from old industry. The price shoots up, and viability goes down.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s obviously still possible that the City swoops in to make it work. It also remains possible that the creative and well-connected minds behind CFC can make business things happen to make land appear in ways that I cannot comprehend. I could hold my breath for this, or I could look at the obvious solution.
Engel Stadium: Civic Pride to Civic Ruins
The Chattanooga Lookouts history goes back to 1885, but only operated continuously from 1910 onward. Up until 1929, the Lookouts were an Independent team, but purchased to be an affiliate of the American League’s Washington Senators by their representative, Joe Engel. Engel quickly built a 12,000 person stadium across the street from the Lookouts’s old grounds and it was aptly named Engel Stadium.
The field saw rapid success, as Joe produced big publicity stunts. Everyone in Chattanooga knows the story of the local 17-year-old girl, Jackie Mitchell, who struck out Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in succession in an exhibition game at Engel. The stadium’s all time top attendance was more than 24,000 on “Win-a-house” night in 1936 — the middle of The Great Depression!.
While successful from the beginning, maintenance and upkeep has problematic through the field’s history. As Chattanooga lost a lot of industry and the surrounding neighborhood slipped. As far back as the 1970s, the Lookouts held promotional nights where fans could trade volunteer time fixing the stadium for tickets. A $2mil major renovation in 1988 suffered planning issues as construction along the 1st base line caused flooding resulting in a lawsuit with the City of Chattanooga. The team appeared on the brink of the extinction when a deal for a downtown stadium on Hawk’s Hill became a lifeline.
Even without a full-time tenant, Engel Stadium revitalizations have been promised “next year” over and over again. A “city park”…a “historic tour site.” Failed. Tennessee Temple moved in…then folded. The movie 42 used Engel as the main set in 2012, yet many fixes were temporary and cosmetic.
Issues at Engel run deep. Facilities remain ancient and rotting. Roofs remain leaky. Outer buildings have been demolished from disrepair. Flooding and buried city stormwater pipes remain an issue. Every official on every side describes Engel Stadium as a “Money Pit.”
Cost estimates for renovation run in the $3 to $4 million range. Sentiment means nothing when the dollars aren’t there. Everyone would love to see Engel fixed. No one wants to fix Engel.
Engel Today: State of the Union
Currently UTC owns Engel field, after it was purchased 14 years ago by the University by the City along with the rest of the land east of O’Neal St west of the railyard. Understood in the agreements is that Engel is to remain standing and put in use if possible.
While UTC has announced plans even this year to turn the Engel site into “student intramural complex”, a quick read between the lines shows that the all of UTC’s proposed improvements are to everywhere else along O’Neal that isn’t actually Engel Stadium, and there are still no official plans for Engel from the University. UTC doesn’t want Engel. UTC wants open space.
UTC’s developments could be a positive, as those improvement could trigger renewed interest in Engel Stadium. Unfortunately, a source close to UTC has said that even with the plans, the University is dealing with issues related to old right-of-ways in the middle of the property. The railroad has no plans to release the right of ways. This has stalled UTC’s proposed sporting complex.
Let me recap: No plans for the future of Engel once again. Failing plans nextdoor from the owners. The stadium is in bad shape and rots a little more every day. At what point should Engel Stadium be granted its merciful death?
The 2000s: A Brave New Chattanooga
Chattanooga of 2017 is not Chattanooga of 1999 nor the years of merciless industrial hardship before that. Downtown Chattanooga is booming. New hotels, new offices, and and condos are everywhere — and that success is breathing renewed life into the rest of the inner city. Commercial districts long past are awakening, and the City of Chattanooga can hardly keep up with the next set of revitalization plans fast enough as us citizens demand more.
While Chattanooga’s Civic investments in Downtown have peaked, City officials continue to make restoration of landmarks a part of the conversation. As the ring of redevelopment radiates outward from the city’s center, Engel Stadium lies directly in the path.
In fact, in case you missed it, in 2015 the River City Company released a set of plans for street improvements along 3rd Street, in the Erlanger and Engel all the way Downtown. While mostly aimed at the roadways themselves, the goals include slowing down of traffic to provide better connectivity for neighborhoods and opportunity for new business along these streets and redeveloping a mixed-use residential and business district across the street from Erlanger — just two blocks west of Engel Stadium — where Erlanger is opening the new Children’s Hospital.
No direct plans for Engel improvements have been included in the conversation at this time. However, as the area remains the focus of study for the next couple of years, the time is right for Chattanooga FC to capitalize. The City may be more open to direct investment in restorative efforts than ever. At a minimum Chattanooga would certainly be in position to include on-street improvements aimed towards support of the stadium towards reconnecting 3rd street and the surrounding neighborhoods.
How Chattanooga FC Rebuilds Engel Stadium
Engel Stadium has a myriad of issues that need resolved. Some need resolved ASAP. Others need processing and a smart approach for decent results. There is a gradual path to turning Engel into Chattanooga FC’s dream custom soccer stadium.
The initial cost of CFC acquiring Engel will likely be just about $0 for the 10 acre site. The price is because of the contingent maintenance liabilities and the restrictions that come with it’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places. Don’t think about it as getting something for free. It’s not.
The overall restoration bill is expected in the $3 to $6million range, so that’s closer to the purchase price. Most of this price is actually going to be deferred — and paid back later, because to open quickly, Chattanooga FC can put a plan in place to cover the immediate soccer stadium needs, while the structure is assessed, and time bought for proper repairs.
The immediate needs for Chattanooga FC to reopen Engel Stadium would be:
1) Additional fan seating centered to the middle of the soccer field
2) Modern concessions
3) Modern locker rooms (for at least the home side, heh)
4) A soccer field centered press box
5) Conversion, grading and drainage appropriate to a soccer field.
The main feature of Historic Engel Stadium is the home plate area wrap around seating. This contains the old locker rooms, historic press box, and ticket sales, offices, and concessions in the stadium. This structure contains the vast bulk of the problems and the cost to fix them. However, most of those issues are not with the seating itself, making for a useful grandstand that will continue to anchor Engel. As it stands today, the old grandstand includes covered seating for 6000 — although it’s all in the southwest corner of the stadium, which is less than ideal for soccer.
Because of the field’s original construction oddity of having one of the largest outfields in modern-era baseball, there is field space for a FIFA regulation soccer surface in a north/south alignment. Most baseball stadium conversions are unable to provide this without major structural modification. This is a major positive towards cost in the conversion of Engel Stadium for Chattanooga FC.
There is an immediate need for construction for seating centered on this north/south soccer field. A new grandstand — of the modular nature that the previous Unsigned Author discusses — would be built along the old 3rd base line north of the current stands, nearly to 3rd street. Behind this stand would be a new temporary entrance to Engel Stadium, concessions, and at least 1 locker room under the stands, and a press box above. The old Engel grandstand would be used for seating, but nothing more at this point. Some space in the old grandstand could be used for facilities storage, or potentially to house a visiting team. Plenty will be cordoned off. The field grading would need to be done regardless.
This quick work turns Engel into a proper stadium immediately, while preserving this Historic feel of the old grandstand. While in service, this allows time to infuse the gradual money needed to do the proper restoration to the old grandstand. The time might be spent examining fixes, applying for Federal Grants (issued annually for just such projects), working with the City towards 3rd Street connections with Engel, or just convincing investors that with the cash flow of stadium running again by a professional organization, that a proper restoration is worth funding.
In the future, Chattanooga FC can construct additional grandstands on the east side of the field — in the outfield to surround the field with fans on both sides, and more permanent entrances/exits could be constructed. The press box would likely be moved to the east side of the field for the aesthetics of looking over the Historic Ballpark. The original Lookouts Hill in the old Center Field. would be saved as a family venue, and future expansions would also include office and potential outward facing restaurant or event space. Not to mention that a proper restoration can host historic tours, or the occasional exhibition baseball or little league games.
The time for Engel Stadium’s rebirth is now, and Chattanooga FC has the unique opportunity to make it happen. While a brand new Engel for CFC won’t pop up fresh overnight, the work needed is within reach. When completed, the hopes of so many of Chattanooga’s sports fans to see Engel alive again will be realized. The City of Chattanooga will have, in Engel Field, a restored landmark to continue to spread the successes of the city down 3rd Street, as the next plans for Orchard Knob start to come to fruition.
Chattanooga FC, can have with the restored Engel Stadium, a custom home in the community for years to come.
Yellow — Initial expansion Soccer Seating/Standing — Future outside Restaurant/Pub Space
Orange — Future Offices/Recreation Area
Blue — Future East Stands/Press Box
Green — Lookout’s Hill
Purple — Property border
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3rd & 4th Street Improvements — http://3rd4thstreetimprovements.com/
UTC on Engel — http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/35802145/the-future-of-engel-stadium-and-utc
Engel Tourism Projections — https://www.utc.edu/health-human-performance/pdfs/engelstadiumtourismassessment.pdf
Engel Stadium Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engel_Stadium
