Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

History

In 2018, the United Soccer League awarded Chattanooga a new franchise for its upcoming third-division league, which would become USL League One, with play starting the following year. This came despite the presence of an established local club, Chattanooga FC, which had drawn crowds well above the minor league average since its 2009 founding, including multiple matches with over 10,000 fans. Chattanooga FC later alleged that the new USL team was trying to take over the local market and its home ground, Finley Stadium, after the older club had chosen not to bid for a spot in the new league. The USL side named Tim Hankinson as its first head coach and officially adopted the name Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in September 2018. In November 2019, Jimmy Obleda was appointed head coach and technical director.

During the 2021 season, the Red Wolves set a USL League One record with a 15-match unbeaten run. They finished third in the standings with 44 points and an 11-11-6 record. In the playoffs, they beat North Texas SC in the quarterfinals but lost to Greenville Triumph in extra time during the semifinals.

The following year, Chattanooga set another league record by scoring seven goals in a single game, defeating Charlotte Independence 7-1. That tally also broke a 42-year-old Tennessee professional soccer record for most goals in a match, previously held by the NASL’s Memphis Rogues, who scored six in 1980. In July 2022, coach Obleda was placed on a provisional suspension while an investigation took place into misconduct allegations brought by the USL Players Association. The players’ union later said it had lost confidence in how the Red Wolves handled the probe and asked the U.S. Center for SafeSport to investigate.

Despite the off-field turmoil, the 2022 season saw Chattanooga make its deepest playoff run. For the second straight year, they reached the semifinals, where they defeated defending champion Union Omaha 1-0 after extra time in front of a full house at CHI Memorial Stadium. They then traveled to beat the regular-season champion Richmond Kickers 1-0, earning a spot in the club’s first-ever final. In the championship match, Chattanooga faced South Georgia Tormenta and lost 2-1.

Stadium

The Chattanooga Red Wolves SC first revealed their intention to build a dedicated soccer stadium in East Ridge, Tennessee, a Chattanooga suburb, on April 25, 2019. This venue was to be the centerpiece of a larger 100-acre, $125 million mixed-use development featuring hotels, condos, apartments, retail, restaurants, and convention space. On March 5, 2020, CHI Memorial Hospital, part of the Catholic Health Initiatives system, was announced as the stadium’s naming rights partner. By spring 2021, the stadium’s jumbotron was finished—a 33-by-62-foot screen capable of displaying live video, replays, and in-game stats. The Executive Club and Sky Suites building, which will hold eight suites and a restaurant-bar, remains under construction. For the 2024 season, the team replaced the synthetic turf with a natural grass pitch, part of a $2 million upgrade to CHI Memorial Stadium.