It’s been clear for some time that the first pitch of the 2025 baseball season would be thrown from the mound inside the new multi-purpose stadium being constructed in downtown Knoxville. It has also been know that One Knoxville, which has been playing on the UT campus at Regal Soccer Stadium, would move to the new stadium, but details had not been released regarding next season. The ambiguity ended late last week with the announcement by Boyd Sports and One Knoxville that starting next season, the soccer club will play its home games inside the new stadium.
Randy Boyd issued a statement saying, “Boyd Sports and the Knoxville Smokies are very proud to partner with One Knoxville to help make the multi-use vision for the stadium a reality and to give fans a variety of excellent experiences in our shared home.”
Drew McKenna, managing partner of One Knoxville said,
One Knoxville SC is thrilled to officially partner with Boyd Sports to play our 2025 season in the new Old City stadium. The vision and leadership Randy Boyd has displayed to bring this project together will permanently transform Knoxville.” He expressed gratitude for the “support of the Boyd family, Boyd Sports, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, the Sports Authority of Knoxville and Knox County and Visit Knoxville . . . While we have loved our time at UT’s Regal Soccer Stadium and will be forever grateful to UT Athletics, the Old City stadium will offer several new amenities to our fans, including premium seating and the iconic Tennessee-shaped scoreboard. This opportunity will be transformational for One Knox fans.
Chris Allen, Smokies president and CEO pointed out that the baseball/soccer arrangement has worked well in other cities and he expects the same to be true here. “. . . We welcome One Knox and its growing fan base.”
The idea of using one stadium for two sports featuring very different field lay-outs is a challenge. Both Boyd Sports and One Knoxville officials are consulting other stadiums that have the dual sports. One example of making it works includes the retractable pitcher’s mound included in the design. Since other uses are intended, such as concerts and other public events, care was taken in the design phase to make the stadium flexible for multiple uses.
While most Americans might be dreading April 15 as the annual day to settle up with Uncle Sam for the previous year, on April 15, 2025, Knoxville residents can get excited about baseball. The One Knoxville schedule has yet to be finalized, but 2025 season ticket deposits are now available at here. If you’d like to get a preview of what to expect next season, why not check out a game this season? There are three games left in the regular season for this year and you can check out tickets for those games here.