KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The City Council is set to vote on a contract with the Emerald Youth Foundation to sell 12.7 acres of Chilhowee Park for a youth sports and wellness complex for roughly $913,000.
If the sale agreement is approved, the nonprofit would build a $20-$30 million complex featuring two ball fields, a walking trail and a 37,000 square foot facility. The facility would include a career center, a medical office operated by River Valley Health, and community rooms. The complex would be similar to their Haslam-Sansom Ministry complex in Lonsdale.
The parcel of land proposed for the sale – known as the ‘Midway’ – is locked off to the public. The large parking lot within the plot is mostly used during events throughout the year, including the Tennessee Valley Fair.
The proposal stems from several community meetings led by Emerald Youth and local groups over the last three years. In 2024, Emerald Youth responded to the city’s Request for Proposal that sought a new development in the Midway area of the park, which was labeled as "underutilized.” The RFP requested the development would provide family-focused services.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon says the proposed complex aligns with her vision for the city and a 2019 strategic plan for Chilhowee Park.
“Our kids in families in East Knoxville deserve opportunities to improve their lives,” she said.
Those in favor of the proposal have said the complex provides more opportunities for kids in East Knoxville to participate in afterschool activities without the need to commute to Emerald Youth’s Haslam- Sansom Ministry Complex in Lonsdale.
Emerald Youth provides after-school programming for kids, including sports activities, career coaching and tutoring. Leaders of the non-profit have said that the complex is aimed at expanding their services to more families in East Knoxville, as they have limited capacity at their current location inside Mt. Zion Baptist Church. According to their website, the faith-based nonprofit served over 750 kids in East Knoxville last year.
“This is about us caring for our community, caring for young people and trying to respond to what our families are asking for,” said Steve Diggs, the President and CEO of Emerald Youth.
A local youth sports coach, Larry Roe, says he supports the sale because East Knoxville lacks recreation opportunities for kids.
“The kids here don't have a lot of resources to get the type of exposure that is going to take to get to college or to play at a division one, division two, or whatever level,” he said.
Roe said the football fields at the proposed complex would fill a gap in the community and added that local handymen could bid for projects during its construction.
“A lot of people could benefit from [Emerald Youth] building that facility over there,” he said. “Otherwise, it's just going to sit there, like it's been doing for the last 30 years.”
Other supporters include Breyauna Holloway, an East Knoxville native whose children are enrolled in Emerald Youth Programs.
“I spent a lot of my teenage years in the Burlington community,” she said. “I would have loved a safe space for me to be able to walk from Austin East [Magnet High School] on my way home and possibly use a fitness center or have a part-time job where it didn't involve me working fast food.”
Many community members oppose the sale, however. The vote has been postponed twice amid pushback from elected officials and local residents alike, who argue the sale agreement was not transparent enough and lacked public input, among other concerns.
“The process [of the sale] alone has not met the standards that we should all have for our city government,” said Councilmember Amelia Parker, who represents At Large Seat C.
Following each postponement, the city held public meetings to field questions from the community about the sale. Most attendants were against it, and argued their concerns were left unanswered.
At the latest meeting at Dr. E.V. Davidson Community Center on September 15, more than 50 attendees opposed to the sale created their own Q & A segment after expressing disappointment over the city’s approach to the meeting.
While there, the group began chanting ‘not for sale.’
Attendants were encouraged to learn about the proposal through different booths set up across the gymnasium and write their questions down on an easel pad. City leaders did not answer the questions in front of the attendants, as they did at a previous public meeting at Los Portales on August 26 where the Q & A segment was cancelled after eight questions due to interruptions from the audience.
East Knoxville native Vivian Shipe was among the moderators for the makeshift Q&A segment.
“We do not hate Emerald,” she said. “Emerald does not belong in Chilhowee Park. It’s public land.”
In less than a week before the council’s upcoming vote, the city announced that it has revised parts of the contract for the proposed sale to address the pushback. Those revisions include extending the restriction and right of first refusal periods from 20 to 40 years, a perpetuity restriction for the property where the sports fields will be located, a commitment to preserve as many mature trees as possible on the property and a written commitment ensuring access to the complex is available to the community at large.
The city also announced plans to form the East Knoxville Advisory Group that is similar to the group made for projects at the South Waterfront, along with a five-year, $10 million commitment to fund improvements to the north side of Chilhowee Park, where Muse Knoxville and Zoo Knoxville are located.
“Working together, with public and private partnerships, we can have a world class park, top notch amenities, and a safe place for families that reflects the voices of East Knoxville neighbors,” the announcement read.
Despite these revisions, several community members have called for the sale to be cancelled. That includes the Harvey Broome Group, which is East Tennessee’s regional chapter of the Sierra Club. They fear the impact the proposed complex could have on the environment.
“We oppose selling public park land where valuable resources can be protected,” said Maggie Longmire, a member of the chapter’s executive committee and Knoxville resident. “It is a hollow promise to offer that the developers will ‘save as many trees as possible.’ That has no meaning or guarantee.”
Councilmember Gwen McKenzie, whose district includes East Knoxville, supports the sale. However, she expressed concern about how the proposal has sown division among community members,
“I do think that it's very unfortunate that it does seem to now be getting to a point where it is tearing the community apart,” McKenzie said. “People are just now kind of drawing lines in the sand.”
The City Council will vote on the measure at their meeting tonight at 6 pm.
