‘Big League' Knoxville Smokies prepare for Opening Day at new stadium
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — With just one week left until Opening Day at Covenant Health Park, officials are putting the final touches on the $114-million project and honoring the city's baseball history before fans enter through the gates.
The Knoxville Smokies will take the field on April 15 for their home opener. Boyd Sports Vice President Jeremy Boler told 6 News this week is all about the final details.
Old City business owners welcome Covenant Health Park parking plan but questions linger
'Punch list items, a little electrical work here and there. Our food and beverage department is stocking coolers right now, getting all the beer carts and concession items all in. Food deliveries are everyday now,' said Boler.
Stadium workers from concessions to ticketing have been at the park all week preparing.
'We've hired a lot of new staff, but we also have returning staff from Smokies Stadium, and this is a new ballpark with new technology, so teaching them every little bit about what goes on here is really important before having our first game,' said Aris Theofanopoulos, assistant general manager of marketing and entertainment.
What fans can expect at Covenant Health Park on Opening Day
The park also unveiled seven new statues Tuesday in Giant's Landing outside the stadium. The statues represent the Smokies, the Knoxville Giants who played in the Negro Southern League and the first little league baseball program for black children in Knoxville before integration.
As the team looks back at the history of baseball in Knoxville, they're also looking ahead to the future.
'We have a time capsule that was recently buried, so we're going to have a plaque that's installed right there in the ground in the concrete so everyone can take a look at when it was buried and when the projected date is to open,' Theofanopoulos said.
Whitewater rafting business in Hartford reopening after Helene damage
No one is more prepared for Opening Day however, than the players.
'The number one slogan they keep saying is 'big league,' so they're really enjoying the ball park and the amenities they have downstairs in the club house in their lounge, and honestly they are really excited to open this park next Tuesday,' Boler said.
The first pitch will be at 7:30 p.m. on April 15. The game will be broadcasted live on WATE 6.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lowe's Plans New Store Openings in Two States This Year
Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) is one of the best stocks for a . The company is planning to open between five and ten new stores in 2025, as part of a broader growth strategy that could lead to dozens of new locations in the coming years. This updated outlook differs from the company's December 2024 announcement, when it aimed to open 10 to 15 stores annually. A spokesperson explained that the revised figure reflects the time needed to "ramp up" expansion efforts. So far in 2025, the North Carolina-based retailer has launched two new stores in Texas and reopened one in North Carolina that had been closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene, the spokesperson told USA TODAY. Additional openings are expected later this year in Texas and Arizona. Beginning in 2026, Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) plans to return to its original goal of opening 10 to 15 stores annually. Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) is a home improvement retailer that serves both individual customers and professionals, offering a broad selection of products and services. Its offerings include everything from tools and building materials to appliances, furniture, and home decor. In addition, the company provides services such as key cutting, recycling, and price matching. LOW has surged by nearly 1.5% in the past 12 months. While we acknowledge the potential of LOW as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure. None.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gov. Josh Stein signs six NC bills into law
RALEIGH, N.C.(WNCN) — Before heading into the weekend, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein put his support behind six bills. House Bill 506 creates the North Carolina Investment Authority, which is tasked with overseeing state investments, taking some responsibility away from the state treasurer. The authority would be responsible for managing investments for retirement systems and the General Fund. 'We're changing the degrees that we're headed by a slight amount, but it will have profound differences for our state over long periods of time,' said State Treasurer Brad Briner. 'If we can deliver 1% more, we will able we will be able to deliver $2 billion a year more to our state budget, and that is why we're doing this.' The governor also signed Senate Bill 231, which is designed to lower barriers for social workers to practice in or out of the state. North Carolina now joins an agreement with 29 other states allowing licensed social workers to practice in any state included in the agreement. Social workers say that Hurricane Helene showed the need for change after the storm displaced patients out of state. 'Licensed clinical social workers couldn't legally continue therapy with their clients unless they were licensed in each of those states, disrupting care at a time when it was most needed,' said Valerie Arendt, executive director for the National Association of Social Workers NC. 'The compact helps ensure continuity of care no matter where life takes rural residents.' House Bill 50, also signed by the governor, aims to retain some of the state's most experienced law enforcement officers. Before this new law, after 30 years of service, an officer had the choice to retire or stay on the job and lose out on retirement fund dollars. The new law gives officers more options to stay on the job. 'If we make it hard to retain our most experienced law enforcement officers, we're doing ourselves a grave disservice,' said Stein. 'If we want to keep the best, we have to support them, and that's exactly what this legislation does.' Most notably the governor did not sign or address three controversial bills on this desk. Two are related to cracking down on illegal immigration, and the third would allow concealed carry without a permit for adults over 18. Governor Stein also signed the following bills into law: House Bill 477: Retirement Death Benefits Rewrite Senate Bill 248: Birth Certificates for Persons Adopted Senate Bill 477: DNCR Agency Bill Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mets have MLB's biggest home attendance bump in 2025. Here's how many fans are going
NEW YORK − When Mets owner Steve Cohen rolled through spring training in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in mid-February, he was in a generally good mood. The weather was nice, he had landed the superstar of free agency, and ended some tireless negotiations to bring back Pete Alonso. But the mention of attendance at Citi Field in 2024 soured Cohen's disposition momentarily. Advertisement "Yeah, I didn't like it," Cohen said in February. "That really bothered me – 18th in attendance when we're right in the middle of a pennant race. I've said this before. The series against the Nationals right before the final Phillies series, I think there were 18,000 fans in the stadium during a great pennant race, and so I'm really hopeful this year. "I'm told that usually attendance lags performance, and so I'm really looking forward to this year being a year when the fans come out." Despite an 89-win season in 2024, including the best record in baseball from June on, the Mets ultimately finished 17th in Major League Baseball in attendance at 29,484 fans per game. Cohen's prophecy has come true in 2025. Advertisement Through 33 games at Citi Field this season, the Mets overwhelmingly have the biggest jump in attendance. They entered Thursday afternoon's game averaging 37,801 fans per game — fifth-best in MLB — compared to 24,960 per game through the same number of games in 2024. It's an increase of 12,841 fans per game. The next-nearest team with a significant bump — the Detroit Tigers — have drawn 7,720 more fans per game. Results have followed for the Mets, who boast the best home record in MLB at 27-7. "Incredible. It's hard to describe, but for sure, we're feeling it," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "And I said it last year toward the end and then from the beginning, I feel like on Opening Day when we first played here, it was a playoff atmosphere. Proud of them. I said it earlier in the season too, I feel like there's a connection now between the team and our fan base and we feed off that." Advertisement So why do fans believe that there has been a groundswell in support at Citi Field this season? We asked a handful of fans their thoughts: Mets fans: 'We like to see a winner' Apr 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; General view of Citi Field as fans arrive before the New York Mets home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images For Danny Kramer of Bellmore, New York, the spike in attendance simply comes down to performance. A season ago, the Mets dropped their first five games of the season and stumbled to as many as 11 games under .500 by the end of May. There were some jarring sights in the stands as the Mets saw their lowest-attended game in Citi Field history with 15,020 for a April doubleheader against the Tigers. But other contests set a harsh tone, with a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Braves on May 12 seeing 18,944 fans in the stands. Advertisement "Once they had their incredible run, people started coming and showing up," Krimmer said. "One interesting thing, and I've been a Met fan since 1962, Yankee fans will come no matter what happens. Met fans are somewhat more fickle, although certain Mets fans won't agree, but it's true. We like to see a winner." There were also tempered expectations coming into the 2024 season. In the first season under president of baseball operations David Stearns, there were plenty of low-risk, high-reward signings in Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, J.D. Martinez and Harrison Bader, but none of the big swings that Mets fans had come to expect. By the end of 2024, fans got to see that those moves had paid off, plus a shift in vibes in the clubhouse, and the Mets had suddenly morphed into contenders, launching on a dream run to the National League Championship Series. "How the second half of last year went, it gave everybody hope, in a sense, because in the beginning we were bad," said Christian Medina of Startford, Connecticut. Advertisement "It came around and it got everybody hyped and everybody wanted to be here, getting that far against the Dodgers." Mets owner Steve Cohen is invested in that goal New York Mets owner Steve Cohen (second from right) talks with reporters during the first day of a full-squad workout during Spring Training at Clover Park on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Port St. Lucie. A shockwave went through the baseball landscape last December and Mets fans took notice. When the Mets front office, led by Cohen and Stearns, signed Juan Soto to a record $765 million contract ahead of the winter meetings, it provided proof that the leaders were not fooling around in their quest to win. "I think it sends a message to all Met fans, all baseball fans, that, 'Hey, Steve Cohen, he wants to win. He wants to win the World Series and he's willing to pay top dollar for a player like Soto,'" said Tim O'Hanlon, a season ticket holder from Garden City, New York. "It creates all this energy. We, as the fans, we know, 'Hey, our owner is with us.'" Advertisement With Soto joining forces with Alonso and Francisco Lindor, among others, the expectations vaulted higher heading into the 2025 season and it has shown in the ticket sales. The lowest attended game so far was 28,630 against the Marlins in early June. The Mets have seen 13 games with at least 40,000 fans, including three on a late May weekend against the Rockies, the worst team in baseball. "It has to go back to the owner, you just feel better," said Michael Stroud of Nanuet, New York. "Even if he's not spending, it just feels better for some reason. He can if he needs to. He's sort of a fan." A new era of optimism for Mets Apr 8, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images For the first time in nearly a decade, Mets fans got a taste of a deep postseason run in 2024 but there's still a hint of reality that sets when they're asked about the goals for 2025. Advertisement "If we can beat the Dodgers, that's my hope," said Tom Storch of Astoria, New York. "Make it to the World Series. I don't need anything more than that." Fans have appreciated a swell in support at the ballpark that has come with success on the field. "I know there's been worse before I was even born, but there was some bad years that I've seen," Medina said. "This is a nice change." For O'Hanlon, who attends nearly every home game, simply making the playoffs is the goal, even if winning the National League East would be nice. Get in the playoffs, and it's anybody's game, as evidenced by last season's run. Advertisement Either way, the early success and the commitment from the front office had brought added enthusiasm as the meat of the Mets' season gets underway. "It's great to be a Mets fan right now," O'Hanlon said. "Our owner's behind us, everybody's excited to go to the games. Overall, there's such energy in the ballpark compared to where we were this time last year. There's such energy and let's continue it through." This article originally appeared on NY Mets have biggest home game MLB attendance jump in 2025 season
