Knoxville Weighs Turning Municipal Golf Course Into Sports Fields

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Knoxville's city-owned golf course could lose half its holes to soccer goals. The Knoxville-Knox County Sports Authority is taking public input on a plan to redevelop the 156-acre Knoxville Municipal Golf Course on Schaad Road into a smaller course plus a multi-field complex built for youth tournaments.

The first community listening session is Thursday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the course clubhouse, according to the Sports Authority's project page. A public hearing on the draft request for proposals follows on Oct. 27, and written comments close Nov. 2.

What the Knoxville Golf Course Plan Includes

The concepts on the table: shrink the 18-hole course to a nine-hole or par-3 layout with practice areas, add rectangular fields for soccer, lacrosse, flag football and ultimate, and leave room for hotels, retail or other commercial uses. The fields are meant to handle tournaments, not just rec league nights. Officials stress that no final plan has been approved.

Knoxville City Council approved an agreement in August letting the Sports Authority study the idea, as WVLT reported. The course has operated since 1984. City-commissioned studies found Knoxville needs more athletic fields, both for local youth leagues and to bring in regional events, per WATE.

Timeline: Final RFP in November, Proposals in January

The tentative schedule has a final RFP going out Nov. 16, proposals due Jan. 22, 2027, a public forum on the proposals Feb. 4, a shortlist in late February and a Sports Authority recommendation to the city and county in late March. All dates can still move.

Knoxville has the location for this kind of play. Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Louisville and Cincinnati are all within a few hours' drive, which is exactly the radius tournament operators look at when they book weekends. It would also sit in the backyard of the Tennessee Volunteers, whose campus draws visitors every fall Saturday.

Golfers will have their say too, and the listening session is the first real test of how much of the course the city is willing to give up.