Is It Time To Start Talking About Replacing Nashville’s Sports Stadiums?

Does the next mayor need to get the ball rolling on new pro sports facilities in Nashville? That’s what candidates were asked at the latest forum hosted by the city’s hospitality industry on Thursday.

At-large Metro Council member Megan Barry said it doesn’t make sense to talk about LP Field until the Tennessee Titans start filling the current stadium with cheering fans.

“Let’s get the owners to talk about fielding a team, and then we can talk about upgrading the infrastructure,” Barry said to laughter, referring to the franchise’s 2-14 season.

The city has funded major upgrades at both the Titans’ field and Bridgestone Arena. Both were built nearly 20 years ago.

The current deal with the Titans doesn’t expire until after the next mayor leaves a potential second term. While the Bridgestone lease is
revisited more regularly, real estate investor Bill Freeman said he won’t spend much energy on the issue.

“I don’t know that that’s anything that’s going to be on the top of my to-do list for the next four years,” he said.

Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry may be most concerned about the city’s sports teams. He even floated the possibility of building a much larger, covered field in order to host a Super Bowl.

“We don’t need to wait until the Titans come to us to start talking about a new stadium,
“ 
Gentry said. 
“
I mentioned the Super Bowl. You know, that’s not really that far fetched.”

That idea, he said, was given to him by one of his advisors — former Titans running back Eddie George.