Carrying History Home With The Community
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Chattanooga Lookouts celebrated a milestone today, moving their historic home plate from AT&T Field to their future stadium at Erlanger Park in a ceremonial community relay.
Fans, local businesses, and community partners joined the walk along Chestnut Street, participating in a special event connecting the team’s past to its future.
The relay drew dozens of participants who carried the plate through downtown, showing the city’s deep connection to its baseball history.
Dan Kopf, Vice President of Marketing for the Lookouts, shared his thoughts on the event by stating that “you know I just hope they know that how great Erlanger Park is gonna be and how much we value them. You know, it was just so great seeing people walk 2.2 miles in the cold in the snow all the way to Erlanger Park. I mean, if that doesn’t say baseball, if that doesn’t say community in Chattanooga, then I don’t know what does.”
At the stadium site, EMJ Construction, the company that built AT&T Field and is now building Erlanger Park, delivered the plate to an Erlanger Health representative, who made the ceremonial final placement on the field.
Rachel Harris, Executive Vice President with Erlanger Health, described the significance of setting the plate in its new home:
“I’m very proud. I’m very proud to be in Chattanooga. I’ve lived here my entire life. I grew up going to Engel Stadium and then to AT&T Park and then being a part of Erlanger and a part of this new park. It’s just it’s very emotional.”
Harris also highlighted the opportunity to carry history forward:
“I feel like we’re able to bring this new park from old history to new history, make memories with our children and our grandchildren. We can sit out in the park and watch the ball games from here to come.”
Looking beyond baseball, Dan Kopf emphasized the stadium’s role for the community is “not just baseball, I mean, we’ll be able to have tons of events here, weddings, and concerts. You can bring out your business. We’re gonna have Christmas parties out here, so this is really a 365-day event venue not just during baseball season.”
The relay and ceremonial placement highlight the connection between the Lookouts, the city of Chattanooga, and its fans, bridging generations of baseball history while creating a new space for community gatherings.
