A Tale of Two Ballparks

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is still a field of dreams—but it’s also a celebration of hometown pride, budget-friendly fun, and offbeat creativity. Year after year, MiLB injects fresh energy into America’s pastime with wildly fun events like Bubble Wrap Night and team names that are as unforgettable as the games themselves—Trash Pandas, Sod Poodles, and Cannon Ballers, just to name a few.

Some minor league teams trace their roots back to the 1800s, often moving from city to city, building new fanbases and traditions along the way. Populous shares in that legacy—and while we haven’t hit the century mark just yet, we’ve designed ballparks for clubs across the country, from Albuquerque to El Paso to Buffalo.

On April 15, 2025, two teams opened two parks in front of new neighbors. The journey to Opening Day was along completely different paths; one field is a careful restoration of a beloved place from the early 20th century, the other a completely new field, ready for diehards and new fans.

This is the tale of two ballparks.

Life’s a Peach
In 2023, when the city of Columbus, Georgia, and Diamond Baseball Holdings partnered to bring affiliated baseball back to Georgia’s second largest city, Populous was selected to expand and renovate what was once Golden Park, now known as Synovus Park.

Baseball has deep roots in Columbus, dating back to 1885 when the city joined the Southern League as the Columbus Stars. Over the next 150 years, seven different teams called the city home, with clubs coming and going until 2008, when the Columbus Catfish became the last affiliated team to leave. Though a summer collegiate league kept the game alive, professional baseball was gone—until now.

Golden Park, built in 1926 for just $6,710, served as Columbus’s home field for decades and even hosted the women’s softball competition during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But by 2024, it was time for a fresh start. That year, the Mississippi Braves announced their move to Columbus, and on Opening Day 2025, the newly named Columbus Clingstones—Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves—took the field at Synovus Park, a brand-new home with a big-league connection to Populous-designed Truist Park, host of the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

The Populous journey with Synovus was always about preserving its history. Replacing the facility was never an option and the only way forward was the careful restoration and expansion. Defining elements of the park, including the Georgian red brick facade, were carefully restored, maintaining the traditional feel of a ballpark that once hosted Babe Ruth, Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. The original seating bowl and dugouts were reused, while outdated or patchwork additions were removed or concealed to create a cleaner, more cohesive space. New amenities—including clubhouses, training facilities, and skills areas—support player development and provide rehab space for MLB athletes on assignment.

Fans can look forward to an upgraded experience at Synovus Park, with new seating options, premium club spaces, suites, group areas, and a kid’s play zone—all complemented by elevated concessions from a state-of-the-art kitchen and food service partner. Beautifully landscaped walkways connect the ballpark to the nearby Chattahoochee Riverwalk, enhancing its connection to the community.

Populous has long championed the concept of year-round, multi-use sports venues, and Synovus Park follows that model. Designed for more than just baseball, the facility can also host concerts, receptions, and a variety of public and private events throughout the year.

All of this ensures that the affordable, family-friendly spirit of Minor League Baseball has a secure future in Columbus, with the Clingstones keeping the city’s long-standing love for baseball alive. Clingstones, fittingly, are a variety of peach known for sticking to their pit—“Much like our ball club’s going to cling to the community here in Columbus,” said Clingstones General Manager Pete Laven. This year’s promotions drive that point home, including a bobblehead giveaway featuring the team’s mascot, Fuzzy—a peach in a baseball uniform, of course.

Hard Knocks. New Life.
Knoxville’s professional baseball story began in 1896 with the Knoxville Indians. Like many minor league teams, the club went through decades of name changes, league shifts, and MLB affiliations. In 1925, they became the Smokies—a tribute to the nearby Great Smoky Mountains—a name that stuck, with a few brief breaks, until 1967. The Smokies returned in 1993 and moved to Kodak in 2000, where they played as the Tennessee Smokies for the next 25 years.

Still, Knoxville never stopped thinking of the Smokies as its home team. In 2021, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, and Boyd Sports approved plans for a new multi-use stadium in the heart of downtown. Populous, along with local firms Barber McMurry Architects and Design Innovation Architects, was selected to lead the design of both the ballpark and its surrounding mixed-use development. Baseball was about to slide back into downtown, this time as the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate Knoxville Smokies.

Covenant Health Park was built on the site of a former meatpacking plant in an underused part of Knoxville, anchoring a bold effort to spark growth between East Knoxville and Old City. Now open, the ballpark reconnects communities once divided by urban renewal, creating a cultural corridor that links Covenant Health Park, Harriet Tubman Park, and the Botanical Garden. It’s surrounded by a multi-million-dollar private development with restaurants, shops, housing, hotels, and public spaces.

At the heart of the project is the stadium itself—Knoxville’s first mass timber construction. The roof structure features 36,500 square feet of exposed cross-laminated timber, blending sustainability with beauty. The use of timber saved 55 tons of steel and prevented or stored 434 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions—the equivalent of powering 46 homes for a year. It’s a nod to the era when ballparks were wooden, and fans wore hats to the game—classic form meeting modern function.

The stadium will host both the Knoxville Smokies and One Knoxville SC, a USL League One soccer club. Designed for versatility, it includes a retractable pitcher’s mound and year-round usability, with seating for 6,000 and total capacity of 7,400. Events and activities can spill out onto the surrounding public plaza as well.

Knoxville’s rich baseball history is woven into every corner of the new ballpark. Giants Plaza, located at the east and west entrances, features bronze statues honoring players from the Knoxville Giants of the Negro Leagues, along with a sculpture of young boys from the 1951 Negro Little League—symbols of both the city’s past and its promise. And in true minor league fashion, the Smokies are keeping things fun with themed nights—from Taylor Swift and Harry Potter to Wrestling Night, tipping a hat to Knox County Mayor and former wrestling icon Kane, better known these days as Glenn Jacobs.

In places like these, baseball isn’t just a game—it’s part of the soul of the city. Opening Night proved it: the Knoxville Smokies made their return count with a 5–4 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts at Covenant Health Ballpark, thrilling a sellout crowd. And in Columbus, the Clingstones delivered a statement of their own, blanking the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3–0 at Synovus Park, where fans packed the stands to celebrate the team’s long-awaited homecoming. Welcome home, Smokies and Clingstones.