Work begins on Templin Field bleachers
The foundation is being laid for the new 400-seat bleachers at George Templin Memorial Field in Rocky Top, part of an extensive makeover of the ballfield’s amenities. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Ellis said they will replace the ones removed in April as work began on a major upgrade of the city-owned and operated ballpark.
The council in December approved a $904,090 contract for modernizing the ballpark, which includes the bleachers and attached press box, a concessions stand, and some restroom upgrades.
First Place Finish, Inc., an Oak Ridge-based contractor, was awarded the contract for the project, for which the city has received a state recreation grant of up to $566,000.
The city must match the amount of grant funding dollar for dollar, and will do so using a U.S. Department of Agriculture low-interest loan.
Besides the new bleachers, with about 400 seats, the city also will use part of the grant to rebuild a walking trail around the park, and install a new chain-link fence around the athletic field.
Ellis has said that the seating area and other facilities, including restrooms, at the ballfield needed upgrades that would make them compliant with standards mandated by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
The upgrades are expected to be completed by Aug. 1, Ellis told The Courier News earlier.
Work began April 12 with the teardown of the existing bleachers, which Ellis said went surprisingly quickly.
“They barely touched the bleachers with the excavator and they fell,” he said. “They scheduled three days to tear them down, and it took only one day.”
Users of the ballfield include Little League football, the Lake City Middle School football program, and some slow-pitch softball leagues, the city has said.
The $566,000 grant came in 2025 from TDEC’s Local Parks and Recreation Fund. Rocky Top was among four area cities to receive grants from the fund, for a total of $1.27 million.
Mayor Kerry Templin said at the time that the city had two years to make use of the grant before it expired.
The ballfield already has a new scoreboard, which was installed in 2024 at a cost of about $12,000.
