'We need an MLB team in TN,' Gov. Bill Lee says in visit to new Knoxville stadium

"Baseball belongs in Tennessee," Gov. Bill Lee said while donning a red, white and blue Knoxville Smokies polo on his Aug. 6 visit to Covenant Health Park.

It's the same phrase the governor used to promote the first Major League Baseball game in the state, which featured the Atlanta Braves outlasting the rain and the Cincinnati Reds in front of 91,032 fans Aug. 2 and 3 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Lee, who spearheaded beginning in 2022 the effort to bring the MLB Speedway Classic to Tennessee, said the event was a sneak peek of what baseball could become in Tennessee.

"It spoke well to the fact that Tennessee has a lot of baseball fans," Lee said during an in-game chat with the media at the new Knoxville ballpark. "We need an MLB team in Tennessee. I'm really hopeful that's coming."

This was the first visit to Covenant Health Park for the governor, who watched as the Double-A Chicago Cubs affiliate took on the visiting Biloxi Shuckers. Prior to the game, Lee walked the 360-degree concourse inside the $114 million park and met with players on the field for a photo.

Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who supported the publicly funded stadium, were on hand for the tour with Lee and Smokies owner Randy Boyd.

Boyd and Lee have a long history with one another − both as competitors and collaborators. The two faced each other in the Republican primary for governor in 2018. Later, when Boyd became University of Tennessee System president and Lee became governor, the two have worked to promote education.

They also see eye-to-eye on the new Knoxville stadium, and Boyd couldn't help but smile as Lee praised its state-of-the-art amenities.

"This is a very exciting development right here in this town. It's a part of what's to come for this state," Lee said. "Tennessee is America's best. This is America's game. This stadium and what's being developed around here is part of the future for Tennessee, America and certainly for Knoxville."

Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes reports for the business growth and development team. Email: [email protected]; Instagram: @knoxeat65. 

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 'We need an MLB team in TN,' Gov. Bill Lee says at Knoxville stadium