Chattanooga stadium project remains on budget as stormwater trunk line, sewer work and roadway design advance

City and project officials told the Chattanooga Sports Authority on Thursday that major public-infrastructure elements supporting the new stadium are under construction and on budget.

Finance staff said the main stormwater trunk line installed beneath Interstate 24 is complete and crews are preparing connections from adjacent roadways and the stadium site. "That main, trunk line pipe is complete," Bill, finance presenter, said. Officials also reported that public sewer work that will serve the stadium is ongoing and that final design for the West 20 Sixth Street extension and Riverwalk improvements is continuing.

The infrastructure work is part of a $10,000,000 public-infrastructure component provided by the city to the sports authority, officials said. "I think $5,700,000 of the $10,000,000 was appropriated by the city in last year's fiscal 25 budget, and the remaining $4,300,000 of general fund dollars was being appropriated in the FY26," Bill said, adding that those appropriations will fully fund the infrastructure component.

Board members were told private railroad crossings on the site will be converted to public crossings and that negotiations with Norfolk Southern are about to begin. Project staff said Norfolk Southern requested a direct agreement with the city because the city will ultimately own the infrastructure; about $67,000 in preliminary engineering for that railroad work will be removed from the developer's scope and handled under the city's agreement.

Officials showed a cash-flow forecast for stadium construction that excludes team-supplied items and site prep; the board-authorized stadium budget was cited at roughly $86 million (bonds, loan and related interest). The finance presentation indicated current spending is tracking slightly under the initial forecast and that some contingency funds remain unused. "We're slightly under, but that's okay," Bill said. "The cash flow spend is tracking very well with the cash flow projections we had at the beginning."

Developer and master-developer representatives also updated the authority on private-sector phases immediately north of the ballpark. The developer said design development drawings are under way for multifamily buildings planned near the stadium and that one building would include about 290 units. The presenter described site features shown in recent renderings, including elevated residential views toward the field and a pool area and noted tempered glass is required in some facades because of potential home-run impacts.

Board members asked for clarity on how finance and public-works updates will be presented going forward; staff said the financial slide will be consolidated into the public-works progress report and that the budget-versus-actual analysis will continue to be provided as a separate page.

The authority received a contractor-supplied drone video of site work and heard that most stormwater dollars have been spent to date because the jack-and-bore beneath the interstate was the highest-cost element. Officials said site-preparation reimbursements and team-furnished purchases are proceeding and will appear in future draw requests as payments are finalized.

Attendees were not provided a specific project completion date in the meeting and no changes to project schedule were reported.