From Brownfield to Ballpark: The Municipal Partnership Behind Erlanger Park
Along the Tennessee River on Chattanooga’s Southside, a comprehensive brownfield redevelopment is transforming former industrial land into a world-class mixed-use stadium district, breathing new life into the South Broad District.
The Foundries District redevelopment of the former U.S. Pipe and Wheland Foundry sites, spanning 16 properties across 94 acres, is part of the South Broad Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, which is projected to generate significant private investment, including multi-family housing, restaurants, retail, and office space. The centerpiece of the U.S. Pipe revitalization efforts is Erlanger Park—the new home of the Chattanooga Lookouts Double-A baseball club. More than just a stadium, this community asset celebrates the site’s industrial past, serves as a destination for recreation, and provides amenities that support year-round events.
Sports-Anchored Mixed-Use Redevelopment
The redevelopment is being advanced through a collaborative partnership between the City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Sports Authority, the Chattanooga Lookouts, Perimeter Properties, and private development partners.
Funding for the publicly owned stadium was supported through Chattanooga-Hamilton County Sports Authority bonds. These bonds will be repaid using new tax revenue generated within the TIF district rather than existing tax dollars. Additional resources and funding, including land, infrastructure improvements, direct financial investment, and financial responsibility for construction cost overruns, were provided by private partners. The Chattanooga Lookouts baseball team entered into a 30-year lease, paying annual rent and covering all stadium operating and maintenance costs.
The Benefits
The goal of the South Broad redevelopment is to generate long-term economic, community, and public benefits beyond professional baseball. The stadium is expected to serve as the catalyst for more than $1 billion in private investment, and approximately $2.3 billion in long-term regional economic impact. This includes the generation of roughly $186 million in new funding for Hamilton County Schools and more than $100 million in additional city and county tax revenue over 30 years, without increasing existing tax rates.
Beyond the financial benefits, the redevelopment transforms former industrial sites into an active mixed-use district with a publicly owned venue for year-round community events, expanded public access to the Tennessee Riverwalk, and establishes a western gateway into Chattanooga.
LaBella’s Role
LaBella played a significant role in preparing the brownfield site to be pad-ready for Erlanger Park by providing comprehensive multidisciplinary engineering services for the stadium and surrounding mixed-use development. Beginning with utility and topographic surveys to inform site layout, grading, drainage, and utility design, the team then supported the brownfield redevelopment through environmental observation during soil management activities, geotechnical design of a stabilized working surface using recycled concrete aggregate, and construction materials testing, on behalf of the developer.
Additional services included designing the stadium’s stormwater collection and drainage system; conducting traffic engineering studies and preparing improvement plans to support the stadium and adjacent development while minimizing impacts on the surrounding transportation network; and developing construction documents and providing construction administration and oversight of the landscape installation.
Beyond the stadium, LaBella’s has supported redevelopment efforts across The Foundries District, including public roadway and Riverwalk improvements, residential development, parking infrastructure, and survey basemaps for all redevelopment properties.