A 1980 story in The Wall Street Journal called Knoxville a "scruffy little city" and suggested that few would participate in or attend a fair staged by such a place. Nevertheless, Knoxville did host the 1982 World's Fair - the last successful World's Fair held in America - and reached its goal of 11 million visitors.
More recently, Knoxville has become the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and continues to be the third largest city in the state of Tennessee, except during home games of the University of Tennessee football team, when the crowds converging on Neyland Stadium turn it into the second largest city in the state.