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August 23, 2004
If You Build It, They Won’t Come
…unless you give them a reason to
In November of 1999, two years after Finley Stadium opened, Stadium Corporation Chairman Frank Kinser said that, “Realistically, nobody had any experience in operating an outside facility in Chattanooga. We’re learning as we go how to be more cost effective. We are all working together for the future of Finley and its benefit to the community.”
After comments like this, obvious questions arise: If nobody in Chattanooga had experience running a facility like Finley Stadium, how were they so sure that building it would be a such a great idea? Why was it really built? And how would they know how to fix things if their plans didn’t work?
Hamilton County has stopped funding the stadium. The Convention Center is backing out of its financial liability for it, as well. And while Stadium Corporation head Ryan Crimmins said last week that there is “no way” the community “will walk away from Finley,” the community isn’t going to stand around outside an empty stadium, either. He says that an improved UTC Moc football team—and 3,000 to 4,000 more people in the stands—will really help cash flow. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
UTC never pushed for the stadium to be built in the first place. The university reportedly only jumped on board (with enthusiasm and, more importantly, money) after it was clear that the stadium would be built anyway, as they didn’t want to go against overwhelming sentiment from those “in the know” (but admittedly not so) who predicted that Finley would rejuvenate the Southside. Finley really hasn’t been a factor. And it’s not UTC’s fault.
Even when they were played on UTC’s campus, football games were not particularly well attended. And when fans came to games, it was at least as much due to Chamberlain Field’s convenient location on campus as it was