The Chattanooga region has a long and proud baseball history stretching back more than 140 years. Since 1909, the city’s team has carried the name Lookouts, inspired by nearby Lookout Mountain, a landmark where visitors and locals alike can view seven states from nearly 2,400 feet up. The famous Incline Railway, one of the steepest passenger railways in the world, has long carried people to its summit, helping to cement its name as part of the city’s identity.

In 1930, the Lookouts’ story changed forever. Clark Griffith, owner of the Washington Senators, sent his scout Joe Engel to find a home for the Senators’ first minor league affiliate. After unsuccessfully trying to purchase the Atlanta Crackers, Engel instead bought the Lookouts from Sammy Strang, a local former Major Leaguer. The team soon left Andrews Field, where they had played for two decades, and moved into Engel Stadium, named after the man who brought them there. The Lookouts would play at Engel for the next seventy years, with one brief exception in 1943 when the team relocated to Montgomery, Alabama. Engel himself led a letter-writing campaign to Griffith that brought the team back to Chattanooga after just one season away.

Engel Stadium became one of the most famous homes in minor league baseball. In 1931, just a year after the ballpark opened, 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell – one of the few female professional baseball players – pitched in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees and struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Lookouts also built their own legacy, winning their first league championship in 1988.

As early as the 1970s, Engel Stadium had begun to show its age. In 1994, the same year Michael Jordan played at the stadium with the visiting Birmingham Barons for his first of two seasons, businessman Frank Burke purchased the Lookouts. After years of mounting upkeep costs and difficulty turning a profit at Engel, Burke agreed to fund a new stadium under the condition that 1,800 season tickets and 10 luxury boxes were sold before the 1999 season. Fans reached the goal a week early and, in 2000, the Lookouts moved downtown to Hawk Hill, opening BellSouth Park. In 2007, the ballpark was renamed AT&T Field following AT&T’s acquisition of BellSouth.

The new ballpark immediately stood out. Perched just off Route 27 in downtown Chattanooga, it offered sweeping views of the Tennessee River and mountain vistas. Fans reached the stadium via an outdoor escalator rising up Hawk Hill from nearby parking areas, a unique entry experience. Inside, new traditions were built. A ballpark train runs the tracks after every Lookouts home run, celebrating Chattanooga’s railway heritage. One of the most recognizable figures at the park has been Wanda Goins, affectionately known as “Wanda the Program Lady,” who has been a fixture since 1990. Once handing out physical programs at Engel Stadium and later at AT&T Field, she adapted in the post-pandemic era by distributing flyers with QR codes for digital programs, her energy and enthusiasm becoming a part of the fan experience across generations of Lookout fans as they enter the stadium.

The Lookouts’ brand is also iconic. Their “eyes-in-the-C” logo is among the most recognizable in Minor League Baseball, and their mascot, Looie the Lookout, embodies that same design with a nose that doubles as the brim of his baseball cap. Together, they helped define the team’s identity both locally and nationally.

Despite AT&T Field’s downtown location and its reputation for breathtaking views, the ballpark’s limited footprint eventually created challenges. Parking was tight, downtown traffic made access difficult, and Major League Baseball’s new facility standards demanded upgrades the stadium could not meet. As a result, the Lookouts will remain in Chattanooga but move to Erlanger Park in the South Broad District in 2026, marking the next chapter in the team’s long history.

Yesterday, the Lookouts closed out their regular-season run at AT&T Field with a 2-1 loss to the Birmingham Barons. The team will return at least once more later this month for the Southern League Playoffs, giving fans one final chance to celebrate atop Hawk Hill. The Lookouts will bid farewell to 25 years of baseball at AT&T Field, years that included unforgettable moments and Southern League championships in 2015 and 2017. The future of the site remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: AT&T Field helped secure the Lookouts’ place as one of the premier franchises in minor league baseball and added another proud chapter to Chattanooga’s continuing baseball story.

Take a listen to my interview with Larry Ward, voice of the Lookouts.