Flashback Friday - 15 Years In Kodak

From an almost un-operational stadium in 1999 to a brand new location and stadium in 2000, Smokies Baseball has held a place in the hearts of many Knoxvillians. This year marks the fifteenth season in Kodak, and the end to a much-needed renovation.

It was this week 15 years ago, on April 20, 2000, the Smokies opened the shiny new gates of Smokies Stadium to fans of all ages for the first time. After much debate over where the Smokies' new stadium would end up, the crowd was thrilled to arrive at a pristine facility that was just a short twenty-minute drive outside of Knoxville.

Bill Meyer Stadium, the original home of Smokies baseball, opened in 1955, but by the late 90's it had lost most of its splendor and functionality. 

"Bill Meyer Stadium was a great place to watch a ballgame from a fan's perspective, but from an operational standpoint it was a struggle," recalls Jeff Shoaf. "We had five or six power delays during the 1999 season due to the stadium not being configured when built for popcorn poppers, computers, scoreboards...stuff like that. Some of the field lights would go out and we would have to wait 20-30 minutes for them to come back on. It was rough."

In early 2000, the Smokies front office staff was preparing to move from one stadium to another. The staff grew as quickly as the hours grew long and laborious. 

As Director of Operations Bryan Webster remembers, "At about 6:00 p.m. every night we would start loading the U-Haul truck and run back and forth between the stadiums. And it wasn't like we were only trying to fit a ton of stuff into already-completed storage rooms. Parts of the stadium were still incomplete, which meant we would move things into one part of the stadium first, then to another area later."

Fifteen years later, the night before Opening Day at Smokies Stadium, the scene was reminiscent of those days before that inaugural opening in 2000- staff scrambling to finish painting walls, televisions being hanged, suites being cleaned, and concessions items stocked. 

Newcomer and Director of Corporate Sales Jeremy Boler, said he could not have been be more ready for the home opener.

"After staring at the countdown clock forever, it is finally here and the suites are finished, the Kid's Zone is done, and most of our construction is finished. You wear many hats in this business, but we all pull together to make Opening Day a great memory for our fans."

And essentially, that's what the Smokies' vision is for their fans' experience for all 70 games throughout each season. Making memories that will last a lifetime, and hopefully take place at Smokies Stadium for many more years to come.