New entertainment complex is coming to West Knoxville
Prosperity Crossing, a sports entertainment complex featuring hotels, restaurants, retail and apartments currently is under way for West Knox County.
Grading is taking place on the 230-acre complex at the southwest corner of Watt Road, across from Flying J Travel Center and just outside of Farragut, according to Steve Maddox, president and owner of Maddox Companies, which include Maddox Property Management and Sales, Maddox Construction and Maddox Development Companies.
The crew broke ground in February, but he said there will be an official groundbreaking in September.
Currently, Maddox said excavation and earthwork are being performed, which he expects will take 12 months; some utilities are being installed; others are being designed; and engineering on the overall site has been done. The next stage will be to complete installation of the utilities and the roads at the same time the apartments and ballfields are being constructed.
Then, as the roads are finished, he said the hotels, medical offices and other buildings will start being built.
Contrary to earlier reports about the development, Maddox said it will be anchored by a 12-field sports complex.
“I think it was quoted that the development is going to have apartments at the top and a bunch of offices,” he said, then clarified, “It’s going to have zero offices other than medical.
“Retail, yes; grocery store, no; a wholesale club, no,” Maddox said. “Hotel convention facilities, yes; and a bunch of other retail and outdoors fitters, yes — but the main point of the development is the sports center.
“We’ve got it designed for 12 multi-use, all-turf, lighted fields with all the amenities, plenty of parking, restrooms and concessions.
“The fields can be used for soccer, rugby, lacross, football,” he said. “They can also be turned cornerwise and be used for baseball and softball.
“What makes ours unique is seven of the fields and then five of the fields are all going to be on one plane — one level — so that they’re basically one sheet of turf, from one end to the other so that you can move them and do anything with them that needs to be done,” Maddox said. “We’ve also had interest for archery and just all kinds of different uses.
“The construction has begun,” he said. “They will be starting construction on the fields starting later this fall.”
Seating capacity for the fields will be up to operators of the fields, according to Maddox. However, he said there would probably be at least 100 seats per field.
“That’s 1,200 or more seating capacity,” he added.
Along with sports, Maddox said, the fields also can be used for concerts and other community, charity and similar events.
“There’s a study done by Knox County that’s said this development would bring in between 5,000 to 10,000 people per week for local play during the week and tournament play on the weekends,” he said. “The study also looked at locations in Knox County and determined that this location was the very best location because of its proximity to I-40 and I-75, and it’s right there on the interchange.
“This project also is the driver for the new Watt Road interchange, and the widening of I-40 and I-75,” Maddox said. “And, it also helped Farragut with the Campbell Station Road exit.
“There’s going to be a apartments on the very back side of it,” Maddox added. “There will be some amount of retail and other entertainment venues.
“We’ve been discussing bowling, parquet-type operations, and we’ve also discussed a water park hotel; but the main focus is going to be the ballfields,” he said. “That’s what pulls it all together.
“Another thing I think is important is that my partner (Joe Hollingworth) and I bought out the Cupid’s Outlet, so that we could close it down,“ Maddox said.
“We didn’t feel that that (business) was appropriate with all the kids that would be coming in and not a good appearance for Knox County, and Farragut for that matter.”
A Farragut High School Class of 1973 graduate, he was spurred to develop Prosperity Crossing from a Knox County study showing the development was needed “in an area where it has good access.”
“Development, these days, is more toward entertainment and dining,” Maddox said. “This is a development that fits those uses.”
For the region and state, “this is a very unique development,” he said. “It’s going to be such a mixed use, all right there together.”
”Other locations, you’ll have ballfields, but you’ll have to drive several miles to restaurants or hotels,” Maddox pointed out. “Or, you have situations where the ballfields are very difficult to get to because of traffic and congestion.
“Our’s is located right beside the interstate, new interchange and new roads, so the accessibility will be good, and it will have all the mixed uses that anybody would like to use there,” he said. “But, it will also be a big benefit for Turkey Creek and other restaurants in areas of Farragut and Knoxville.
“This is a regional drawl,” Maddox said. “It will be drawing multiple states.”
The developers have been working on the project for about 12 or 14 years.
“It was originally going to be a big box retail development, but as that’s gone by the wayside — and it’s such a large development that we have to have a specific draw – so when we came up, in conjunction with Knox County with the idea for the sports park development, it all came together,” he said.
