A feasibility study commissioned to explore bringing back Boomsday has concluded that the city can afford one firework.
The $180,000 study, delivered to City Council last week, reviewed ten years of public sentiment since the fireworks show ended in 2016 and found that demand for its return remains “strong to overwhelming.” It also found that staging a full show now runs well into seven figures, with shell inflation what it is, and recommends a phased revival beginning with a single eight-inch chrysanthemum, available through state contract for $340.
“People said bring back Boomsday,” explained city special events coordinator Rhonda Kitts. “Nobody specified the quantity. It’s the same sky.”
A draft run-of-show accompanies the study. Gates would open at 4 p.m., the National Anthem would begin at 8:56, and the firework would take place from 9:00:00 to approximately 9:00:04, followed by closing remarks. Traffic is expected to clear by midnight, consistent with tradition.
Requests to tap the state’s $1.2 billion surplus were declined by Nashville, which indicated the money is being saved for something special. The study instead recommends corporate sponsorship of the shell, with naming rights.
Public reaction along the riverfront was supportive. “I was on that bridge in ’92 when the ash blew into my Coke,” said retired boilermaker Charles Ogle of Vestal. “You can’t put a price on that.” Informed of the price, Ogle stood by his position.
The study projects attendance of 400,000, which would make the event the best-attended four seconds in Knoxville since the 1982 World’s Fair.
The rain date is next year.