Kannapolis Breaks Ground on New Sports and Entertainment Venue

On October 30^th, the City of Kannapolis broke ground on its new downtown Sports and Entertainment Venue. Designed by Populous, the $52 million ballpark will open for the Kannapolis Intimidators’, the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, 2020 season.

Designed to be a year-round community asset, the facility’s concourse will function as a city park to be open and active on non-game days and will feature numerous community amenities. The Sports and Entertainment Venue also includes a kids zone and the necessary accommodations to host special events such as concerts.

“As the anchor to the broader vision of a revitalized downtown Kannapolis, the ballpark will integrate with neighboring residential and retail developments to become an accessible icon of activity for the city and a beloved ballpark for Intimidators fans,” said Jason Michael Ford, Senior Associate at Populous.

With a seating capacity of 4,930, the ballpark will feature something for everyone including luxury suites, a party deck, berm seating, premium dugout box seats, a picnic terrace, an outfield bar and right field boxes. The venue also features 6,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space rentable for conferences, meetings and special events.

“We have reached a fork in the City’s road – when it is time for bold choices in order to achieve our vision of a revitalized downtown. We have dreamed of this Sports and Entertainment Venue and now the day is here. We are very excited to begin construction of this premier venue,” said Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant.

“Today’s groundbreaking is the start of an exciting journey toward a revitalized Kannapolis with a thriving Sports and Entertainment Venue,” said Andy Sandler, Chairman of Temerity Capital Partners and owner of the Kannapolis Intimidators.

The Sports and Entertainment Venue is the second step in the city’s downtown revitalization project and has already resulted in commitments by private investors for adjacent mixed-use developments totaling more than $100 million.

Populous has designed more than 120 ballparks and spring training facilities with a focus on authenticity to place, fans and teams. To learn more about the firm’s ballpark design expertise, visit populous.com/our-projects/ballparks.