Knoxville Smokies

The franchise moved from Knoxville to Kodak, Tennessee, a small community in Sevier County about 20 miles east of Knoxville, before the 2000 season. Rebranded as the Tennessee Smokies, the team played at Smokies Stadium in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The move brought the franchise closer to the tourist corridor around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, though it also distanced the team from the larger Knoxville market.

The Smokies were affiliated with several organizations during the early Kodak years before establishing a partnership with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 that would define the franchise going forward. The Cubs affiliation brought stability and a pipeline of talented prospects that elevated the on-field product and gave fans compelling reasons to make the drive to Sevier County.

Buddy Bailey served as a long-tenured manager during the early portion of this era, including a strong 76-63 campaign in 2015. The franchise developed a loyal following in East Tennessee despite the suburban location, with the beautiful mountain backdrop providing a scenic setting even as the ballpark's accessibility remained a challenge for fans coming from Knoxville proper.

Randy Boyd's purchase of the franchise in 2013 set in motion the most transformative period in team history. Boyd, a Knoxville-based entrepreneur and civic leader, immediately began working toward returning the team to downtown Knoxville. While those plans developed over the next decade, the Smokies continued to serve as the Cubs' primary Double-A development stop.

Manager Mark Johnson guided the team from 2016 through 2018, posting records of 58-81, 68-70, and 67-71 as the Cubs' farm system cycled through rebuilding phases. Jimmy Gonzalez took over for a difficult 58-81 campaign in 2019. After the 2020 pandemic cancellation, the Smokies returned in 2021 under Buddy Bailey with a 46-63 record before Michael Ryan took over and began building a competitive culture.

Ryan's 2022 team went 71-66, and the 2023 squad posted 75-62. But the real breakthrough came in 2024 under Lance Rymel, who guided the Smokies to an extraordinary 87-50 record—the best in franchise history by a wide margin. The franchise-record season served as the perfect send-off from Smokies Stadium in Kodak, as the team prepared for its historic return to downtown Knoxville.