{"id":2087428,"date":"2025-10-13T10:07:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T10:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2087428"},"modified":"2025-10-13T10:07:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T10:07:18","slug":"connection-to-bustling-broadway-central-to-predators-proposed-bridgestone-arena-renovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/connection-to-bustling-broadway-central-to-predators-proposed-bridgestone-arena-renovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Connection to bustling Broadway central to Predators\u2019 proposed Bridgestone Arena renovation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">When Bridgestone Arena opened in 1996, Broadway, a spiritual home for country music and culture in Nashville, was at rock bottom. The four-block strip leading to the Cumberland River was dotted with pawn shops and boarded-up storefronts. The honky-tonks open then were a little too authentic for tourists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">Accordingly, the arena \u2014 which opened without a primary sports tenant; the Predators came two years later \u2014 bore some resemblance to a fortress. Bridgestone included an appended two-story concrete building fronting Broadway that bore all the charm of a parking deck and later housed the Predators\u2019 team office, alongside a police station and a register of deeds office. Mixed-use development indeed. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">Nearly 30 years later, Broadway is unrecognizable. It gradually, then rapidly in the last decade, transformed from dark to neon-lit and desolate to bustling; from panhandling and transients to consumerism and bachelorette parties. Eighteen bars have opened off Broadway in the last five years, according to The Tennesseean newspaper. Nashville\u2019s downtown saw $10.4 billion in public and private investments come to fruition between 2014 and 2024, with another $13.5 billion either planned or under construction, according to Nashville Downtown, a private nonprofit corporation serving the city\u2019s urban core. <\/p>\n<div class=\"b-article-body__html\">\n<section class=\"breakout-box\" style=\"border-left: 5px solid #da202c; padding: 15px; background-color: #eeeeee; margin-right: 40px; \">\n<h3 style=\"font-size: 30px; color: #da202c; \">To be decided<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The hotel is one of a handful of key decisions that the Predators want to make before the end of the year. Others include: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How many parcels to put at ground level of the Broadway-facing building.<span class=\"s1\"\/><\/li>\n<li>Whether to partner with a developer on the new real estate.<\/li>\n<li>Who will operate the street-level commercial real estate that\u2019s open daily.<\/li>\n<li>Who will operate the street-level commercial real estate that\u2019s open daily.<\/li>\n<li>What the project\u2019s total budget will be.<\/li>\n<li>The percentage of premium seating in the post-renovation building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">The arena police station eventually closed and the register of deeds office relocated in late May 2024, giving the Predators an opening. They\u2019re proposing a significant reimagining of the arena\u2019s one-city-block footprint, a renovation that could cost anywhere from $650 million to $750 million and take an inward facing arena and make it extroverted, just as the people riding mechanical bulls at bars down the street. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cIt\u2019s probably the last undeveloped area on Broadway,\u201d said Predators Chief Strategy Officer <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/Articles\/2025\/06\/16\/forty-under-40-kyle-clayton-nashville-predators-and-bridgestone-arena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/Articles\/2025\/06\/16\/forty-under-40-kyle-clayton-nashville-predators-and-bridgestone-arena\/\">Kyle Clayton<\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be seen as an island. We want to be part of the fun of Broadway; take these concrete walls and open them up and connect all the energy inside the building with what\u2019s going on outside on Broadway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">As the Predators work with Populous, CAA Icon and Turner (the latter for pre-construction project pricing work) to adapt the arena to the modern state of its surroundings, the two-story concrete building fell into the team\u2019s crosshairs. It will be demolished and replaced with a glassy six-story structure directly connecting the arena and Broadway, with restaurants, retail and arena entrances right off the street. Another five-story building, the future home of the Predators\u2019 business operations, will stretch upward above it. The team hopes to begin that work, which will minimally affect the arena\u2019s interior, by next summer. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cWe want that energy; we want people to be able to see inside the building, really see down to the ice as much as possible, engage with a retail store,\u201d Populous Senior Principal Adam Stover said. \u201cWhen [the arena was] built, it was solid walls, and now our goal is to truly open that up and let it be porous at every corner of the building.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">Excavating two levels down between the ice sheet and Broadway will allow the team to add roughly 50,000 square feet to the arena\u2019s event level, rare new space that will be used to improve nearly every aspect of its operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cFrom the edge of the [seating] bowl to Broadway is really an untapped resource right now,\u201d Clayton said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">The arena is home to the Predators, the Country Music Awards and (regularly) the SEC basketball conference tournaments, and habitually is a top-10 arena nationally for gross concert ticket sales. It sits diagonally within its city block, pointing toward hallowed country music ground, the Ryman Auditorium. A rehearsal space for performers spins off the southern side of Bridgestone Arena, another quirky result of its music-focused original design that could prove useful to the Predators\u2019 plans. They\u2019re weighing whether to build a high-rise hotel atop it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cA lot of arenas are getting built today and real estate is a big part of that,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cWe love where we\u2019re at, but we\u2019re landlocked, so what can we do with the space that we have? And we\u2019re very lucky to have this space on the block to take advantage of.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-media-item b-article-body__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/6RQKDZJ37VC5PCPVRFXFQW2QRA.jpg?auth=54e5a96f789c102e33935ef89c99645a3a3219661c515210d754b6df12c18e58&amp;width=800&amp;height=533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/6RQKDZJ37VC5PCPVRFXFQW2QRA.jpg?auth=54e5a96f789c102e33935ef89c99645a3a3219661c515210d754b6df12c18e58&amp;width=274&amp;height=182 274w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/6RQKDZJ37VC5PCPVRFXFQW2QRA.jpg?auth=54e5a96f789c102e33935ef89c99645a3a3219661c515210d754b6df12c18e58&amp;width=400&amp;height=266 400w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/6RQKDZJ37VC5PCPVRFXFQW2QRA.jpg?auth=54e5a96f789c102e33935ef89c99645a3a3219661c515210d754b6df12c18e58&amp;width=768&amp;height=511 768w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/6RQKDZJ37VC5PCPVRFXFQW2QRA.jpg?auth=54e5a96f789c102e33935ef89c99645a3a3219661c515210d754b6df12c18e58&amp;width=1024&amp;height=682 1024w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/6RQKDZJ37VC5PCPVRFXFQW2QRA.jpg?auth=54e5a96f789c102e33935ef89c99645a3a3219661c515210d754b6df12c18e58&amp;width=1440&amp;height=959 1440w\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/><figcaption class=\"c-media-item__fig-caption\"><span class=\"c-media-item__caption\">The concrete building adjacent to Bridgestone Arena once housed a police station and a register of deeds office. <\/span><span class=\"c-media-item__credit\">Nashville Predators <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5 class=\"b-article-body__h5\"><b>Unfound space<\/b><\/h5>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">The modernization of Bridgestone Arena lurched into motion in 2019, when the Predators extended their lease with the city through 2049. That deal included commitment to a renovation, which will be funded in part through sales tax and a ticket surcharge collected at the building, plus financing based off future revenue. The Predators will cover any project overruns (based on a final, still undecided project budget), and no Davidson County general funds will be used on the project, Clayton said. The hotel, if built, would be privately financed by Predators owner Bill Haslam, with his ownership partners potentially investing, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">The renovation will address all the basics: enhanced restrooms and concessions; bigger star compounds and locker rooms; easier ingress and egress; greater points-of-sale deployment and sponsorship activation opportunities; a more diversified seating bowl; and upgraded game presentation capabilities. The project also will create more potential event-level space for a second tenant team, perhaps from the WNBA or PWHL. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">Premium will be a focus of the project, too. The Predators are working with Populous, CAA Icon and their internal business analytics team to determine premium capacity port-renovation. Roughly 13% of the arena\u2019s current 17,159 capacity is premium seating. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cThat\u2019s obviously a big question in the industry right now,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cWhat percentage of your building needs to be premium?\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">The core arena renovation work will take place during the summers of 2027, 2028 and 2029, barring Stanley Cup playoff runs. The new Broadway structure is scheduled to open in 2029. It\u2019ll be appended to the arena and form part of the new main plaza and entrance at the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue, and will include a slimmer take on the arena\u2019s signature radio tower. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cIt\u2019s all about that unfound space,\u201d Stover said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to unlock a key, that one piece, so we can start shifting things around that\u2019s going to give us that real estate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">That was the event level. By digging down and creating more space, the Predators will improve food and beverage service, loading dock access and other back-of-house aspects critical to operating a venue that will be used every day. Excavating enabled the six-story building that will feature four levels above grade and 60,000 square feet of restaurants, bars and retail right on Broadway, including what the Predators expect to be the largest rooftop bar on the strip. The five-story office tower will then sit above the new building.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">Some parts of the new building will be open daily, while others will specifically be arena assets. Seven or eight parcels (the exact number hasn\u2019t been decided) will sit at sidewalk level, while new entrances off Broadway will connect to the arena\u2019s main concourse and suite level. Owing to the slope of the street and site, another entrance to the club level (the arena\u2019s third level) will sit off 6th Avenue. The arena\u2019s upper concourse won\u2019t connect to Broadway, but will spill out onto the fourth level of the new building and the rooftop bar. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cWe\u2019ve known we were sitting on a gold mine with the offices being where they were,\u201d Stover said. \u201cIt\u2019s just been a matter of time while leases transitioned to where we were really able to grab the space and maximize its full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-media-item b-article-body__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/7FBKCVXFCFDDTLYYDYIFGQHPAA.jpeg?auth=f003f8e52f98c9f5de59f6144d55a826d1b743e41c714cc73f91b52b7809e24b&amp;width=800&amp;height=401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/7FBKCVXFCFDDTLYYDYIFGQHPAA.jpeg?auth=f003f8e52f98c9f5de59f6144d55a826d1b743e41c714cc73f91b52b7809e24b&amp;width=274&amp;height=137 274w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/7FBKCVXFCFDDTLYYDYIFGQHPAA.jpeg?auth=f003f8e52f98c9f5de59f6144d55a826d1b743e41c714cc73f91b52b7809e24b&amp;width=400&amp;height=200 400w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/7FBKCVXFCFDDTLYYDYIFGQHPAA.jpeg?auth=f003f8e52f98c9f5de59f6144d55a826d1b743e41c714cc73f91b52b7809e24b&amp;width=768&amp;height=384 768w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/7FBKCVXFCFDDTLYYDYIFGQHPAA.jpeg?auth=f003f8e52f98c9f5de59f6144d55a826d1b743e41c714cc73f91b52b7809e24b&amp;width=1024&amp;height=513 1024w, https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/resizer\/v2\/7FBKCVXFCFDDTLYYDYIFGQHPAA.jpeg?auth=f003f8e52f98c9f5de59f6144d55a826d1b743e41c714cc73f91b52b7809e24b&amp;width=1440&amp;height=721 1440w\" width=\"800\" height=\"401\"\/><figcaption class=\"c-media-item__fig-caption\"><span class=\"c-media-item__caption\">A proposed hotel (far left) is among the aspects of the project still undecided. <\/span><span class=\"c-media-item__credit\">Nashville Predators <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5 class=\"b-article-body__h5\"><b>Energy magnet <\/b><\/h5>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">On the side of the arena facing the guitar-shaped Nashville Convention Center, it\u2019s less clear what the Predators will do. The arena\u2019s Demonbreun Street entrance will receive a similar treatment as the Broadway side (more LED and glass), but the biggest question is whether to move forward with a potential hotel on that side of the building. The auxiliary rehearsal space, which is used for the CMAs and the SEC Tournament especially, would be preserved with the hotel built on top. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cSome of the things done in the early \u201990s on this building were unique to Nashville, and we\u2019re blessed that those things took place when they did,\u201d said Stover, \u201cbecause we\u2019re able to now reset and rethink the facility, how it operates and its components, to move it forward for another 25 to 40 years.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">Whether the hotel and its operations can efficiently and effectively fit into Bridgestone Arena\u2019s back-of-house setup remains uncertain. The hotel would add at least a year or two of construction to the overall project, but the larger effort isn\u2019t contingent on the hotel. The downtown Nashville hotel market is booming \u2014 13,348 rooms exist, with another 1,020 under construction \u2014 and sitting across the street from the convention center doesn\u2019t hurt. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">After a decade of watching the Broadway boom, the Predators are getting in on the action. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph sections-facilities \">\u201cThat energy, now we can pull that across the street onto our site,\u201d said Stover, \u201cwhich is going to be really impactful as we think about this being a 365-day-a-year amenity, not just when a concert or hockey game is taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.sportsbusinessjournal.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Bridgestone Arena opened in 1996, Broadway, a spiritual home for country music and culture in Nashville, was at rock bottom. The four-block strip leading to the Cumberland River was dotted with pawn shops and boarded-up storefronts. The honky-tonks open then were a little too authentic for tourists. Accordingly, the arena \u2014 which opened without [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[322828,360911,393221,382743,353211,393222],"class_list":["post-2087428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-bridgestone-arena","tag-nhl","tag-populous","tag-predators","tag-print","tag-upfront"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2087428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2087429,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087428\/revisions\/2087429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2087428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2087428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2087428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}