Closer to the Smokies



Entrance to Smokies Park, Aug-2011.

The seating bowl, as seen from left-center field.

The pleasant view for spectators during the game. Above the craggy hill used to be a campground.

previousChronological Tour: Stop 178next
Quick Facts: Rating: 3 baseballs
Smokies Park, a k a the Sevierville / Sevier County Multi-Use Facility, was built with $19.4 million of taxpayer money in the Kodak section of Sevierville (official address: 3450 Line Drive).

The first thing I noticed (and this was in 2000) was the $3 parking fee. (By 2022, that was up to $5.) The second was the ticket prices, which were substantially higher than in most of the parks I’ve seen in this loop. The price of a stadium seat in 2000 was $8; that had crept up to $10 by 2011, which given minor league inflation wasn’t so bad (and the parking fee remained unchanged). Concession prices are high but not outrageous.

The park is built into a hillside. When the park opened in 2000, there was a KOA campground above it (meaning the lucky campers with spots up against the park had a free view of the game from right field). The campground was gone when I returned in 2011, as additional development meant the arrival of more standard lodging. The freeway exit is for Tennessee state highway 66, which leads to the heart of Sevierville and connects to the tourist attractions of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Ballpark seats are all on one level, below the concourse, with the exception of the sky boxes, which cover the concourse and keep it, and a few rows of seats, in the shade. This was important for the noon game I saw in 2000.

In 2016, the name of the facility changed slightly. It became “Smokies Stadium”, reportedly because Internet searches for “Smokies Park” turned up references to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 25 miles to the south, rather than to the ballpark.

As of August 2020, there is a proposal on the board to bring the Smokies back into Knoxville with a ballpark in Old City, adjacent to downtown. With government approvals, this could happen for the 2025 season, as the lease on Smokies Stadium expires in 2024 and Sevier County is looking at alternative uses for the site. In November 2021, the timeline shifted to the Old City park opening in 2024 with approvals granted by the Knoxville city council and Knox County commission.


Game Date League Level Result
417 Tue 1-Aug-2000 Southern AA TENNESSEE 2, Orlando 1
1144 Fri 12-Aug-2011 Southern AA TENNESSEE 5, Jacksonville 4
2185 Fri 15-Jul-2022 Southern AA Biloxi 5, TENNESSEE 3
Return to the Stadiums page
Return to Charlie’s home page
Send us feedback

Site and images Copyright © 2011 Charles O’Reilly. All rights reserved.
This page updated 23-Dec-2022