Volunteer Statue and Circle Park, Knoxville

Located off Volunteer Boulevard, behind the Volunteer Statue, Circle Park is a recreational area on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Originally named Payne Circle, the central portion of the park was given to the City of West Knoxville in 1888 and became its property on January 4, 1889. Before the late-1960s' the westward expansion of the university, the park was surrounded by beautiful homes, some of which had been sold to fraternities, and the area served as a neighborhood park. Circle Park was once considered a possible site for the new university hospital.

In April 1968, the Volunteer Statue was installed, and in 1974, Circle Park was upgraded using a plan created by landscape architect Bill Oliphant. The plaza for the Volunteer Statue was a major feature of the enhanced Circle Park. The statue, also known as the Torchbearer, was unveiled in 1968, over three decades after it became UT's official symbol. The sculptor, Theodore Andre Beck, was selected as the winner of a contest in 1931 to create a symbol of a Volunteer.

The park underwent additional upgrades in 2004 with new lighting and brick walkways. In the summer of 2015, a significant renovation was undertaken for the entire park, which included improving the Volunteer Statue plaza area and retaining wall and replacing the park's grass with XtraGrass. XtraGrass is a new type of landscaping that blends and reinforces natural grass with artificial turf, offering the look and feel of natural grass with increased resistance to wear. The product was developed by UT and Astroturf and was donated to UT for the project.