Welcome to Covenant Health Park, where Knoxville comes out to play in a revitalized neighborhood and Wrigley-influenced old-school charm meets state-of-the-art amenities and convenience.
(Note: This stadium guide was written while the stadium in question was still under construction. It will be updated with additional photos and information during the 2025 season.)
Knoxville Smokies (Double-A Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs as the Tennessee Smokies since 2007)
Established: 1972 (as Knoxville Sox)
Ball park: Alliance Health Park (opens in 2025)
League: Southern League
Notable alumni: Roy Halladay, Jeff Kent, Yadier Molina, Cecil Fielder, Fred McGriff
Championships: 2023
The Smokies are coming home. Knoxville had a minor league team called The Smokies – named after the nearby Great Smoky Mountains – as early as 1925, and today’s franchise opened there in 1993.
After moving about 20 miles east to Kodak before the 2000 season, the Tennessee Smokies return to their roots By becoming the Knoxville Smokies in a brand new, public Park in 2025.
Alliance Health Park
Google maps
Smokies Line
Smoke calendar
500 E. Jackson Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37915
865-286-2300
Capacity: 7,448
Dimensions: left field, 325 feet; center field, 400 feet; right field, 335 feet
The new state-of-the-art digs are part of a major revitalization project in downtown Knoxville, connecting historic and charming Old Town and the Magnolia Warehouse District and providing views of the Knoxville skyline and track access urban green spaces.
In addition to the stadium – which will also be home to Knox SC, the city’s professional soccer team – the neighborhood is the site of many new restaurants and stores. Even the stadium structure itself includes outward-facing commercial spaces. Multifamily housing is taking off here, too — there’s a 144-unit apartment complex in left field and a stadium condo building.
Covenant Health Park will have something for everyone, with seating options that range from picnic areas at the bottom of the lines, to cushioned seats above the action, to premium options on ORNL Federal Credit Union Luxury Level Club. Most fans in any given game will be seated in the bowl just above field level, providing as intimate a pro baseball experience as possible without signing a contract.
If sitting still isn’t your thing, you can take in the action from a walkable 360-degree lobby. When events (including Smokies games) are not taking place, this hall is open to the public from dawn to dusk as a walking and jogging path.
Although the park will have all the high-tech equipment players development staff members and fans would expect in a stadium built in 2025, Covenant Health Park will have a throwback feel.
"We’re a Cubs affiliate, and when you’re here at the ballpark, it’ll give you that Wrigley Field vibe," Team president Chris Allen told MLB.com. “It looks like a major league park because you have all these buildings surrounding you.”
The team’s refreshed logo set is also in keeping with this vintage-meets-modern aesthetic.
Mascot
Homer the dog may be smarter than your average bear, but he’s not a bear. He is, as his name suggests, the best dog in the Smokies. When he’s not entertaining stadium fans, this canine movie buff enjoys watching celluloid masterpieces such as Bourgeois And Beethoven.
Concessions
The Smokies announced a partnership with Professional Sports Catering – a company founded in 2006 with a deep record of creating exciting, regionally specific concession items specific to the quality of minor league teams across the country. This partnership, coupled with the Smokies’ clear commitment to excellence in all aspects of the Gameday experience at Covenant Health Park, means fans will be rewarded for being hungry and curious.
Where to stay
Headed to the stadium and looking for a nearby hotel? Your Wyndham is waiting. As the official hotel of minor league baseball, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts welcomes baseball fans with a portfolio of 24 trusted brands. Find Wyndham hotels closest to the stadium and book now at wyndhamhotels.com.
Local Attractions
The Sunsphere, which is Honored in the Smokies logo sethas a fourth floor observation deck with stunning views of the area. Built for the 1982 World’s Fair, it’s the perfect place to expand on the places in the city you want to take a closer look at and learn more about the city’s history.
Knoxville is home to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Famea must-visit for passing sports fans. Opened in 1999, the 35,000 square foot venue is a dynamic space filled with memorabilia, informative and fun presentations and, believe it or not, the world’s largest basketball, which stands 30 feet tall and weighs 10 tons.
Whether the length of your stay or the Smokies game schedule, you’ll afford to catch a performance Tennessee Theaterdon’t pass up the opportunity. It opened as a movie palace in 1928, and today hosts not only vintage film screenings, but opera, classical and pop music, touring Broadway shows and more. Whatever you see, you are bound to enjoy the majesty of the place.
The ijams nature center is the way to beat the heat, especially with a paddle or swim. Activities abound.
The Farragut Museum – interesting in the history of naval history and the Civil War – is expected to reopen in 2025 after closing for renovations.
Food and drink
The area immediately around the stadium is becoming fast, but Old Town, blocks away, has been swaying for some time.
Boys Boyd’s Jig & Reel Whiskey Bar accurately presents itself as “a music pub”. It serves both lunch and dinner, specializing in Scottish dishes. Show up after a game to see if you can catch some live music.
If the mention of Tennessee whiskey got you going, you’ll also want to plan a stop at Knox Whiskey works.
Check Brother Wolf And Osteria Stella For upscale cocktails and Italian served with a “traditional ambiance with a contemporary edge”.
Get your morning fix at Old City Java, Jack’s, Wake Up – or, depending on how your night went, maybe all three.
Passerby
Any direction you travel from Knoxville, you have a plethora of great minor league baseball destinations within a few hours.
Heading south, you can easily put together an itinerary that includes, for starters, the Chattanooga Looks (Double-A Cin), Rocket City Trash Pandas (Double-A Laa) and Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A ATL).
Head west on Interstate 40 and you’ll catch the Nashville sounds (Triple-a mil), from where you can continue towards the Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A STL) or head north or south on I-65 to hit a number of teams.
In an east direction, your next logical stop would be the Asheville Tourists (High-A Hou), which lands you in the Carolinas – arguably the heart of the miners.
The road to Chicago
The Smokies are one of two Cubs affiliates in the Southeast, with the other two being in the Midwest.
Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
High-A: Southern Cubs
Double-A: Knoxville Smokies
Triple-A: Iowa Cubs
