The first stage of the Ken Locke Stadium renovation will involve drawing up the initial proposals, and using them as the basis for a fundraising campaign to revamp the historic field.

The Knoxville School Board voted Monday night to retain Snyder and Associates to handle Phase One of the redesign.

The company will do a detailed inventory of the facilities and come up with a concept to be used for the campaign. Their proposal was selected over a similar one provided by Connect and Veenstra & Kimm.

This comes after initial resistance to any alterations at the stadium; the opposition gave way to cooperation between the school district and the Save Our Stadium grassroots organization.

The various parties involved recognize that the stadium needs to be brought up to modern standards and become a true multi-purpose facility; the key will be striking a balance between evolving, and retaining the historic feel of the stadium.

Board member Larry Scott says his original idea was just to fix the retaining wall; but he says plans have evolved beyond what he first had in mind, and he’s glad to see that happen. Scott says there’s plenty of growth potential for the city, and they need to upgrade one of the town’s iconic locations to make it more attractive to potential residents.