📍 Knoxville, Tennessee
⚾ Home of the Knoxville Smokies

Covenant Health Park, the hottest new spot in downtown Knoxville, is a 6,300-seat summertime destination and home to the Double-A Knoxville Smokies. The ballpark is a novel replacement for the formerly far-flung franchise, which played for nearly 25 seasons down Interstate 40 in the small community of Kodak – a gateway of sorts to the touristy Great Smoky Mountains – within the confines of the non-descript Smokies Stadium. The opening of Covenant Health Park in 2025, however, marked the return of baseball to the Knoxville city limits, the first time a minor league team has taken up residence here since the turn of the century.

Still situated in at the foot of the Smokies, the park leans heavily on Appalachian style and mountain iconography. A wrought-iron truss bridge spans a drainage ditch in the outfield – which itself separates part of the concourse from the rest of the stadium – and a faux water tower in the right field corner add to the ambiance. Like their Triple-A cousins in Nashville who have a guitar-shaped scoreboard, the Smokies also have a unique videoboard that follows the outline of the state of Tennessee. During player introductions and after home runs, smoke shoots out from behind the board and fills the night sky.

As the anchor of a new mixed-use district that includes restaurants and apartment living, the stadium design reflects a rightful blend of game-focused seating and social spaces. The right field corner has cornhole boards and a table tennis setup for fans of all ages, while plush couches and Adirondack chairs offer fans a comfortable and fun way to watch the game. The kids zone in left field – which actually sits underneath an apartment building, its upper floors suspended directly above – has a massive central play structure and has games and activities to keep little fans engaged all night long.

The concession choices at Covenant Health Park also deeply reflect the Smoky Mountain cuisine that’s prevalent throughout Tennessee and North Carolina, with options ranging from beef brisket to Swaggerty’s sausages. Brands like Gracie Mae’s Deep South Lemonade and Old Forge Distillery also have outposts inside the ballpark. Behind the plate, a massive full-service station called the Backstop Bar has a wide variety of alcoholic beverages to choose from, and a Modelo watering hole sits in an old shipping container in the right field pavilion. The coolest comestible, though, might just be the park’s snowball stand, which features more than 80 flavors to choose from.

While its predecessor in Kodak was known as “America’s Friendliest Ballpark”, the kind staff and the fan-friendly amenities at Covenant Health Park have ensured that the moniker lives on despite the geographic change.

And as the longtime Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, the Smokies have been a force to contend with in the Southern League, where they’ve played for more than 60 seasons. The club’s 10 Division Titles have led to four league championships, earning crowns in ’74 and ’78 as a White Sox affiliate, in 2004 with the Cardinals and, most recently, in 2023. The Smokies have been a Cubs farm team since 2007.

The Smokies’ facility hosts One Knoxville SC soccer and other sports as well, and is equipped with a retractable pitchers mound to accommodate these non-baseball events. Overall, the park has helped to revitalize the Warehouse District of East Knoxville, located across the James White Parkway from the Old City. A beacon for baseball fans in East Tennessee, Covenant Health Park is a refreshing new chapter for the team, city and the minor leagues as a whole.