All that is needed is a yes vote by the city council.
Now is time for Nashville politicians to decide if the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans ownership will be getting its wish, a new Nashville football venue. Titans ownership and Mayor John Cooper have reached a tentative deal to build a new stadium that needs city council approval. The Titans ownership initially wanted to renovate the 24-year-old stadium but then concluded that for a few hundred million dollars more, a new stadium could be built. A quick yes from the council will quicken the date a shovel can be put into the ground and signal the start of the construction. The proposed stadium will cost at least $2.1 billion. The stadium could open as early as 2026 and the first big non-football event could be the 2027 WrestleMania event. The stadium will be the recipient of the largest public subsidy ever for an NFL stadium surpassing Las Vegas and Buffalo’s subsidies.
Who is paying the $2.1 billion? The project could end up costing Nashville taxpayers more than $760 million. The deal needs government approval which is why there were public hearings. Titans ownership will kick in $840 million with that money coming from personal seat licensing sales and a National Football League loan. Another $1.3 billion will come from the pockets of Tennessee taxpayers. Tennessee legislators have approved the allocation of $500 million in bonds for the project. The local $760 million needed to complete the stadium would be funded by Metro Sports Authority revenue bonds backed by a new 1% countywide hotel occupancy tax, in-stadium sales taxes and half of the state and local sales tax revenues from a planned 130-acre stadium-village with the stadium as the anchor. Is it a worthwhile investment for less than a dozen set events a year? Many Nashville politicians think so.
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Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
