Looks like the Tennessee Titans may soon have a new place to call dome sweet dome.
Nashville mayor John Cooper announced at a press conference this afternoon that the city and the Titans have reached an agreement to build a brand new $2.1 billion domed stadium.
Original plans were to renovate the current Nissan Stadium, but as costs of the renovations began to soar, talks turned to replacing the facility with a new state-of-the-art domed stadium, with the hopes of attracting larger events like the college football playoffs and the Super Bowl. (It would also prevent disasters like the rained-out Garth Brooks concert fiasco last year).
The city’s current lease with the Titans requires Nashville to provide a “first-class” stadium throughout the term of the contract, which runs through 2039, a prospect that would cost Nashville taxpayers around $1.8 billion with renovations to the current Nissan Stadium.
Under the new agreement, the Titans will assume maintenance obligations of the new proposed stadium, which will be paid for through $800 million in contributions from the Titans and $500 million in bonds from the state, plus a new 1% tax on hotel rooms in Davidson County, and sales tax collected in the new facility and surrounding campus.
The new 60,000-seat stadium will be located just east of the current Nissan Stadium on an area by the interstate that is currently a parking lot. The current stadium will be torn down and the land returned to the city so that the area along the Cumberland River can be further developed into a housing, green space and retail space.
In announcing the new stadium, Mayor Cooper said that the agreement protects Nashville taxpayers while also ensuring that the Tennessee Titans remain in Nashville for the long term:
“I’m grateful to Amy Adams Strunk, Burke Nihill and the entire Titans organization for their commitment to Nashville. Residents’ tax dollars can go to core city services because the Titans have stepped up to cover future ongoing maintenance on the new stadium.
I’d also like to thank Governor Lee and our partners at the state legislature for recognizing the Titans’ enormous economic contributions. Together, we are making sure that the Titans stay in Tennessee for generations to come.”
And Titans President and CEO Burk Nihill called the new stadium a “game changer” for the city and state:
“Nashville’s new stadium will be a game changer for the community, enhancing the national and international reputation of our great city and state and delivering world-class events to our doorstep that we could never have dreamed of 25 years ago.”
But the agreement isn’t a done deal just yet: It still has to be passed by Nashville’s city council, some of whose members have expressed concerns about raising hotel prices and the cost of the new stadium to Nashville residents.
If approved by the council, the new stadium could be open in time for the 2026 NFL season.
