East Ridge Mayor Brian Williams, CHI Memorial CEO Janelle Reilly and Chattanooga Red Wolves owner Bob Martino
photo by Joseph Dycus
The mayor of East Ridge and the Chattanooga Red Wolves’ billionaire owner on Thursday announced a partnership with CHI Memorial during an afternoon press conference on Carter Street. The once-unnamed Stadium will now bear the name CHI Memorial Stadium. Team owner Bob Martino said while it is a soccer-specific stadium, it will hopefully be a community center for a variety of year-round events. He also said that with CHI Memorial, the team will partake in a litany of community events.
“Oh what a great day to be teamed up with CHI and all of the amazing causes and community outreach they do here,” said Mr. Martino. “I’m really excited to be involved with them in things well beyond soccer. They’re an amazing organization, and we’re going to have a lot of involvement in doing community outreach. They’re huge on getting the players out there in the community.”
CHI Memorial CEO Janelle Reilly also focused on the overall impact the Red Wolves and their new stadium will have on the surrounding East Ridge area. East Ridge Mayor Brian Williams also spotlighted that aspect of the stadium.
“This day does signify more than the naming of the stadium though. It marks the beginning of a shared vision of a stronger, more connected community,” said Ms. Reilly. “It’s the launch of a 125 million dollar incubator that will create jobs and shine a national spotlight on East Ridge. ”
“These 60-plus acres will house the stadium, and eventually hotels, convention space, restaurants, apartments, and mixed-use development,” said Mayor Williams. “It will not only be a focal point for East Ridge, but the entire Chattanooga area.”
The mayor took time to thank the East Ridge-based team for picking the hospital as their sponsor. Mr. Williams again spoke about the expected economic boon the stadium and its surrounding businesses will have on the local economy.
“On behalf of East Ridge, we are very grateful to have CHI Memorial sponsor the stadium in our community,” said Mayor Williams. “This partnership between CHI Memorial and the Red Wolves continues to elevate the single largest investment and economic boost in the history of East Ridge.”
Located near Camp Jordan, construction has hit some snags with the recent rainy weather. Mr. Martino said, “It’s weather, and you can’t do anything about it. It’s always an impact and it’s one of those things you have to work through. We wish it were sunny, and we accomplished a lot and were way ahead of schedule in February and earlier in getting the site ready. But with weather rolling in, we’ve been scrambling.”
He said he hopes that the stadium will be available to use in time for the team’s opener in late April. Mr. Martino said the team would change plans according to how construction goes.
“We’re going to evaluate that closer to the end of the month and see how things come together,” said Mr. Martino. “Our first home game is the 25th of April, so toward the ends of the month, we’ll see where things are and see what we can do. They’re real close to putting the turf down on it, and it will be great to see the green on there and we’ll evaluate it later in the month.”
When asked about the particular details of how long the deal between the Red Wolves and CHI Memorial is, the Utah native was tight-lipped, saying, “I can tell you it’s a long-term deal. We want it to be more about the community involvement is and not what the finances are.”