One Knox Aims for League Attendance Record in Home Opener
Fans, players and staff weigh in on the club's historic moment
After two seasons at the University of Tennessee’s Regal Soccer Stadium, One Knoxville SC will be moving into its new home at Covenant Health Park on April 26th.
It’s a big match up in more ways than one; besides serving as the 2025 home opener in a brand new stadium, it’s also against USL Championship side FC Tulsa. The clubs will meet in the opening round of the 2025 Jägermeister Cup group stage, the first year the tournament adds teams from a higher level.
With 11 days to go, the club announced last week it sold over 4,000 tickets for the match. It’s already guaranteed to be the highest attended One Knox home match ever.
The club also set its sights on another record: the USL League One all-time attendance record of 6,000, currently held by the Richmond Kickers. While Richmond’s City Stadium has a capacity of 6,000, One Knox will have the advantage of additional capacity of up to 7,000.
“This city has shown up for us in a big way, and they’re proving that Knoxville is truly a soccer town,” said One Knoxville General Manager Drew McKenna, “we haven’t even kicked a ball at Covenant Health Park yet, but you can feel the energy.”
One Knox started the 2025 season on the road while crews complete the final pieces of the stadium. They’re undefeated in three matches with a 2-0-1 record, with one more road match on April 19th at FC Naples.
“It’s been a great start to the season, but the team is excited to come home, and we need Knoxville behind us,” said first year Head Coach Ian Fuller, “the support we’ve felt from this community is incredible.”
“When we walk out onto that pitch for the first time at Covenant Health Park, we want to feel every voice, every clap, every chant. It really makes a difference.”
While he has not been able to appear yet this season due to injury, defender James Thomas is also excited for the new stadium.
“It’s a great step forward to for the club to have a home that matches our fantastic fan base,” he said, “all the lads are excited to get back in front of the Scruffs and we’re grateful to be in Knoxville at such a progressive time for soccer in the city.”
Thomas is one of two players remaining from the USL League Two days, along with fellow defender Dani Fernandez. The pair hold a special place in the hearts of the fans, especially those who have also been supporting since the beginning.
Several teams have seen high attendance marks this season so far, including expansion sides AV Alta FC and FC Naples. Both clubs sold out their opening matches, posting attendances of 5,433 and 4,618 respectively. Naples is averaging around 4,500 in its three matches so far at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, a 97% average capacity rate.
Richmond has also seen strong numbers in two weekend matches, crossing the 4,500 mark twice, while others such as Charlotte, Greenville, South Georgia Tormenta, Spokane and Texoma have struggled to gain or maintain momentum early in the season.
With the new stadium, located adjacent to Old City section of downtown Knoxville, the club has a chance to join the top supported clubs in the attendance records.
The Home Fortress
Gary Sanderson is one of those fans who has been there since the beginning, a season ticket holder who started supporting the club when it was still in USL League Two. Sanderson moved to Knoxville from England over 20 years ago, with soccer in his blood. He was craving a local team when One Knox came along, first at the amateur level before quickly turning professional ahead of the 2023 season.
Sanderson and his wife Jeanne have been so excited for the new stadium that they did two behind the scenes tours during construction, and chose their new seats in the clubhouse “overlooking everything.”
He admits he was skeptical at first at the prospect of sharing with a baseball team, but the tours helped change his mind, convincing him that the partners could pull off the transition between the sports. This will involve a state-of-the-art retractable pitcher’s mound, and covering the infield paths with turf.
“I’d love for our home ground to become a fortress,” he says, “the crowd as the 12th man, making it a nightmare for the opposition.”
Tim Vacek, President of One Knox’s supporter group The Scruffs agrees. The group will have general admission access to section 118, directly behind the north goal, and plans to call the section “The Fort.”
After their tours of the stadium, The Scruffs noticed that the buildings surrounding the stadium give it the appearance of a a fort, and plan to incorporate the theme into some new tifos making their debut this season.
“We've bounced around for three years now, and because of the community we've built, we've made every place that we've been feel like home, he said, “but we've also always known it was temporary.”
“To have a place to call home right in the heart of Scruffy City is just special.”
Thomas says the players are all in on the fortress theme.
“We’re going to do everything we can to put on a show in that first game and turn Covenant Health Park into a fortress this year,” he said.
This is part one in a two part series on Knoxville’s stadium. Part two will focus on The Scruffs’ preparation, excitement and changes coming to the group with the new home. Look out for that on Thursday!