Finley Stadium Unveils 2.0 Master Plan; $4.8M HealthyPlace Park Is Phase 1

Stadium Corporation officials unveiled Finley 2.0 on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, Chattanoogan.com reported. The master plan will guide development and investment at Finley’s campus in the coming years. Officials said it coalesces around five principles: honoring legacy, strengthening community, diversifying experiences, integration for cohesion, and building agility.

This is a Stadium Corporation plan. It is not a City Council vote and not a rezoning. I will not invent a tally, a whole-campus dollar cap, or a construction start. The Times Free Press, covering the board a day earlier, quoted executive director Brian Wright that it is too early for a financing plan or a timeline on the 60,000-square-foot west-entrance building. Wright said he would like to see that building by 2030. That is a wish, not a start date. This file is also not Plan Chattanooga’s Aug. 25 Council adoption and not the Mountain Creek rezoning denial.

What did Stadium Corporation unveil on Aug. 19?

Chattanoogan.com said the stakeholder-driven master-planning process was funded by the Benwood Foundation, the Bobby Stone Foundation, and the Lyndhurst Foundation, and that it produced a long-term vision for Finley’s campus and the 500,000-plus guests who use it through the year. Officials said the campus is well-positioned to become the cornerstone of Chattanooga’s West End and Southside. The plan emphasizes stronger links connecting Finley Stadium and the First Horizon Pavilion across Reggie White Boulevard, and it positions development of a portion of Finley’s Gold Lot into a mixed-use edge framing Main Street. That is a planning sentence. It is not a recorded plat and not a building permit.

County Mayor Weston Wamp, quoted in that story, named HKS and Tinker Ma as partners. Those firms were already on the record in Chattanoogan.com’s June 17, 2025, planning-launch story: HKS, with local partner Tinker Ma, was awarded the design phase for a west-stadium renovation that would include updated locker rooms, premium space, connectivity to the pavilion, concert infrastructure, and a “Stadium within a Park” feel. Board chair Mike Davis said then that a small group built Finley Stadium Davenport Field 28 years earlier. The venue opened in 1997. Do not treat that 2025 launch as this week’s unveiling, and do not treat either story as a vote.

The official Finley Stadium site lists the campus at 1826 Reggie White Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37408. The Times Free Press put Finley at 20,668 fixed seats as the city’s largest seated venue and as home field for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football and Chattanooga Football Club soccer, with the 50,000-square-foot First Horizon Pavilion next door. Wright told the board the pavilion was originally part of the Ross-Meehan Foundry, dating to 1889. The three goals of the expansion, he said, are to enhance current uses, activate the venues daily, and bring major events back to Chattanooga.

What is Phase 1, and when is the HealthyPlace park scheduled?

Chattanoogan.com said a BlueCross HealthyPlace grant was recently awarded and “represents the immediate implementation of Phase 1 of the master plan,” with an investment of $4.8 million for a multi-generational space. The Times Free Press named the funder as the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation and put the park next to the pavilion, off Reggie White Boulevard, scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. The official homepage carries the same year: “BlueCross Healthy Place coming to Pavilion Park in 2027.” End of 2027 is a published completion target for the park. It is not a construction-start date for the 60,000-square-foot west-entrance building.

Wright, quoted by Chattanoogan.com, tied daily use to a CFC match, a Mocs game, and a weekly visit to the Chattanooga Market, and said Mayor Tim Kelly and Mayor Weston Wamp remain partners. Kelly: Finley has been “the place where Chattanooga plays,” and Finley 2.0 “sets a strong foundation for the future.” Foundation language is not a shovel in the ground.

What is in the 60,000-square-foot west-entrance building?

The Times Free Press said Finley 2.0 focuses on the west entrance across from the pavilion, and that the centerpiece is a 60,000-square-foot building connecting the stadium to the pavilion with a covered walkway. Wright told the board the nucleus is the point between the two venues, tying into the industrial history of the building. Early plans, as printed there:

• Field level: 6,000 square feet of additional air-conditioned space, locker rooms, storage, loading areas, and media staging.
• Concourse: the stadium’s first dedicated team store, plus a full-service bar and restaurant.
• Upper floor: 400 club seats and a 10,000-square-foot event space with room for 500 people at a seated banquet, more than the capacity of the stadium’s Ultra Club.

The official site describes today’s Ultra Club as a 3,500-square-foot air-conditioned room that can take 250 guests standing and 150 seated. Do not list the 10,000-square-foot banquet hall as open. The Times Free Press underwriting line: “It’s too early for the Stadium Corp. to have a financing plan or timeline for constructing the new building, though Wright said he’d like to see it built by 2030.” I will not invent a groundbreaking, a bid date, or a Council appropriation. Local 3, also on Aug. 18, said renderings are out and that specific developments will be made as funds become available. It also listed LED lighting and a new sound system at both venues, plus a mother’s room, first-aid office, and sensory room. Those items are on the record as coming. They are not a construction start for the 60,000-square-foot building.

How is campus work funded if there is no published project cap?

There is no published dollar cap for Finley 2.0 as a whole. Do not invent one. The opened pages give three funding facts, and they are not the same fact. The $4.8 million HealthyPlace grant is Phase 1 — the park, not a ceiling on the 60,000-square-foot building.

Chattanoogan.com said the Hamilton County state delegation passed legislation allowing capture of sales tax collected from parking, food, and beverages to fund ongoing legacy-venue maintenance. Board chair Mike Davis said the legislation passed last session takes effect in January and will provide critical funding for ongoing capital needs. Local 3 put the same January start on Hamilton County collecting that sales tax for ongoing maintenance. January is the tax-capture date. It is not a construction start.

Local 3’s earlier report said the State of Tennessee awarded Stadium Corporation a $500,000 grant for “critical needs,” with more than $172,000 for generational infrastructure, more than $84,000 for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades, and more than $237,000 for modernization. That is a published grant split. It is not a master-plan cap. Chattanoogan.com also said the city and Hamilton County have been critical to work already underway. None of those sentences is a vote on a bond, a TIF, or a rezoning of the Gold Lot.

What are Chattanooga homes doing right now?

A master-plan unveiling does not rewrite July closings. Greater Chattanooga REALTORS President Connie Brewer’s July market report, published Aug. 12 and copied on our live South Broad desk, put the region here:

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% in the Aug. 13 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Buyers have more choice. Sellers have more competition. Price the house to those 4,099 listings and 48 days, not to a 60,000-square-foot building that still lacks a published construction start. Do not mix a stale list-price or days-on-market print into this tape.

What this means if you own or buy here

• Southside, West End, and Main Street owners: Disclose a published master plan and a $4.8 million park with an end-of-2027 completion target. Do not disclose a Gold Lot mixed-use closing date, a 60,000-square-foot certificate of occupancy, or a campus-wide dollar cap. Write the listing to today’s zoning letter.
• Owners near 1826 Reggie White Boulevard: Phase 1 is a park next to the pavilion. This weekend’s Scenic City Makers market is already on that campus. Treat event traffic as event traffic. Do not add a “Finley 2.0 premium.”
• Buyers: Write the contract to today’s use, today’s parking, and today’s 6.67% rate. A covered walkway in a rendering is not an amenity you own at closing. Ask for the zoning letter. Do not underwrite Wright’s 2030 wish as a delivery date.
• Move-up sellers: You cannot honor an offer on the next house until this one is settled. Our proven system starts with a written sale plan, including a guaranteed-sale path that locks the sale first* so you are not stuck in a two-house trap while Stadium Corporation raises money for a building that still has no published start.

Need a number on what your house would bring if you listed this week? Get a free home evaluation.

If you need a date certain, ask about a cash offer.

Call Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty — Kings of Real Estate at 865-365-2280. The office is at 121 Suburban Road, Suite 101, Knoxville, TN 37923. If you are a licensed agent looking at a Chattanooga book, the desk fee is $250 a month.

What’s happening in Chattanooga this week

• Thursday, Aug. 20, 3–6 p.m. — Choo Choo Farmers Market at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, honey, meats, and other local vendors.
• Friday–Sunday, Aug. 21–23, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. — Scenic City Makers & Vendor Market at First Horizon Pavilion, 1826 Reggie White Boulevard — on the Finley campus.
• Saturday, Aug. 22, 6–10 p.m. — TVFCU Riverfront Nights at Ross’s Landing, 201 Riverfront Parkway. Free. Chattanoogan.com listed Tennessee’s Dead with Trade Secrets to open. The series runs Saturdays through Sept. 5. The same story flags TVFCU Southside Nights on Sept. 12 at Finley Stadium — a later date, not this weekend. The Times Free Press also listed Y2K Night at the pavilion on Sept. 18.

*Tracy and seller must agree upon price and possession date. Kings of Real Estate, LLC DBA “Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty.”