Engel’s Replacement

Entrance to BellSouth Park, Aug-2011.

Thanks to a freeway, the seating arrangement here is unbalanced.

The view from behind the plate, which doesn’t quite include the Tennessee River.

• Location: 3d and Pine streets, Chattanooga, Tenn. map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2000 as BellSouth Park
• Additional names: AT&T Field (2005)
• Home team: Chattanooga Lookouts, Southern League (2000-present)
• Capacity: 6,160

Chronological Tour: Stop 179

Rating: 3 baseballs

This choo-choo emerges for a Lookouts home run.

The river cannot be seen from the stands, although it is possible to see it from the right field picnic pavilion. Most spectators have a view of the hills on the other side of the river, however.

With the limited room in the park, most of the seating capacity was placed on the first-base line. With the batters facing to the northwest, that means most of these seats (all regular chairs except for the topmost 8 or 10 rows, which are backed aluminum benches) are in the sun – except when the sun is covered by clouds, as was the case the night I visited. The concourse is below the seats, so you can’t order food and watch the game at the same time.

As I told a Chattanooga Times / Free Press reporter the night I visited in 2000, it’s not Engel, but it’s a good place to watch a game.