Innovation Valley sails to third in Boating Life’s “Best Places” poll
Thursday July 19, 2007
Life in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley isn’t just high tech and hard work...
Knoxville, Tenn. – Life in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley isn’t just high tech and hard work. It’s also about boating, camping, and celebrating the outdoors. Major TVA lakes and mild weather consistently put this corner of East Tennessee high in national quality of life polls.
The region’s quality of life gained further recognition today as Boating Life magazine ranked greater Knoxville among the top ten places in the country to boat and live. The Innovation Valley tied San Diego for third place – behind only Tampa Bay and Ft. Lauderdale, respectively.
Recreational boating, the region’s expanding boat-building cluster, Lake Loudon and even tailgating parties on boats at University of Tennessee Volunteer football games – revelers are known locally as the Vol Navy -- figure in the magazine’s glowing assessment of the quality of life in and around Knoxville.
The magazine gave the Innovation Valley a score of 18 out of 20 based on performance in four categories: waterfront availability, ease for boaters, strong boat-related business and the number of good boating days.
Boating Life magazine’s Mike Tyler writes, “It's not hard to figure out why boat manufacturers such as Sea Ray, Bayliner, MasterCraft and Skier's Choice, among others, set up shop in or near Knoxville. The Tennessee River, which runs right through downtown, is part of every aspect of life here. Upstream of the city, the river is a popular fishing and camping spot. Closer to the city, recreation is ever feeding from the river.”
The article also mentions the Innovation Valley’s “recent lakefront housing boom” and “nationally known Tellico Village,” an upscale waterfront community.
For the full Boating Life article, go to: http://www.boatinglife.com/article_content.jsp?ID=52931.
For other stories about the Innovation Valley, go to the news section of www.knoxvilleoakridge.org.
CONTACT:Clark Miller
East Tennessee Economic Development Agency (ETEDA)
865-777-3959
www.knoxvilleoakridge.org
cmiller@eteda.org
