All signs indicate that the announced completion of the stadium in time for next year’s baseball season is right on track. The construction site changes so quickly it can be startling. And sometimes unexpected.
One of those unexpected moments for me came recently when I realized that from my downtown home I could not only see the massive cranes towering above the site, but I could see what appeared to be — and I later confirmed to be — the top of Yardley Flats, the large 233 unit two-building structure being built to the east of the stadium. Additionally, I thought I could see the structure for the lights and that turned out to be true.
A walk around the construction reveals foundation work nearing completion on the Beauford Delaney Building on the western side of the stadium, so it should begin rising soon and, at nine-stories, will be visible from a significant distance. Slated to have 35 to 45 condos and commercial space, the building will greatly define the area around the stadium. You can read more about it here.
As I watched workers smoothing concrete, laying brick, and doing all manner of work to make the vision real, I was reminded of the many hands that have gone into this project. We all know the big names associated with the planning and construction, but a many, many hands have gone into the making of a new Knoxville landmark, and most of them will never be known, but their work should be appreciated.
Coincidentally, Compass also published an article about the stadium today, which has a lot more information. Check it out here if you are a subscriber and if you aren’t, well, you might want to think about that.
For my part, I really want to continue to document the various stages via photograph, so enjoy. I realize not everyone can stroll by and its probably easy to continue to thinking of the stadium as a project for some hazy point in the future until you see the latest.
