SMAC Moves Forward with Quest to find a Home for Youth Rugby

September 18, 2007 (Knoxville, TN) On Monday, the Intergovernmental and Finance Committees of the Knox County Commission unanimously recommended the approval of a resolution providing for a long term lease with the Smoky Mountain Athletic Club of approximately 20 acres located on Oak Ridge Highway to be developed as a rugby park. This item now moves forward to the full Knox County Commission for review on September 24.

The 20 year lease calls for SMAC to build and maintain athletic fields (at SMAC's expense) for the purpose of playing rugby and will be available for other complimenting sports as assigned.  No tax payer funds have been requested for this project but rather all work and maintenance will be provided and funded by SMAC and private partners within the rugby community.

The Smoky Mountain Athletic Club has waited patiently for five years for the opportunity to develop a facility that could be used for youth rugby in Knox County and East Tennessee. While other sports have been granted long term use of public land through private agreements, SMAC was compelled to follow a more discernible pathway in obtaining use of public property to build athletic fields. Additionally, unlike most other private user agreements that currently exist in the county, SMAC will not only maintain the facility but also is solely and independently responsible for its creation (at its own expense).  Over this previous five year period, SMAC has paid thousands of dollars in users fees to Knox County for the use of Tarleton Park and other facilities; therefore, SMAC looks forward to the day when these funds can be reinvested into this new rugby facility.

Over the past four months, SMAC has consulted with Doug Bataille, Director of Knox County Parks and Recreation, to identify available property and to finalize a working agreement for use. A special thanks to Commissioner Lee Tramel, Commissioner Sharon Cawood, Commissioner Lumpy Lambert and all of Knox County Commission for their support in this initiative.

Related Information
SMAC 2007 Annual Report
2007/2008 Knox County Five Year Capital Improvement Plan
MPC's The Future of our Parks
Existing City and County Facilities: Baseball - 89, Soccer - 59, Softball - 42, Fooball - 14, Rugby - 0, Lacrosse - 0