SPORTS AND ATHLETIC FACILITIES

[smeagolsfree]

Come on folks, getting an MLB team, WNBA, and an XFL team here! Where is the fan base going to come from? At some point enough is going to have to be enough. All of these teams want corporate sponsorships, places to play and people to buy season tickets. I think Metro Gov. and the citizens are about to quickly put their collective foot down and end all of this.  It is really going to get out of hand with all of these folks coming to Nashville wanting money for these. 

I will be fine if they want to go to Franklin or one of the outliers to get their money and a place to play. The population is going to need to take a huge bump and we are not seeing that right now. We need that 3% growth which we are not seeing.

[Nash_12South]

My 2 cents - I think the fan base is here already, to a degree. Tourists, businesses would love MLB, as long as it's convenient. The WNBA would have a following (we would have tickets). Women's high school and college basketball is strong here. We sit by a couple at Belmont basketball games, in their 70s, retired, not rich, who have season tickets to the Titans and every Vandy sport. There are a lot of sports fans here. 

[FrankNash]

Attendance at the Nashville SC Match Saturday was about 1/3 St. Louis fans.  Also, Titans, Predators, and Vanderbilt games are about 30 percent visitors as well.  Just saying

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning from Instagram Sky5. 

[markhollin]

Stage being set on Lower Broadway for free concerts in conjunction with the NHL Draft this coming week.

Looking west from Broadway, 1/2 block east of 5th Ave:

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. 
Nashville SuperSpeedway Sunday Night NASCAR. 

[MidTenn1]

On 6/25/2023 at 9:44 AM, markhollin said:

Stage being set on Lower Broadway for free concerts in conjunction with the NHL Draft this coming week.

Looking west from Broadway, 1/2 block east of 5th Ave:

The looking east view from Sunday,

And looking west

[markhollin]

A couple shots of the Lower Broadway stage set up for the NHL Awards/Draft concerts first night:
 

[MLBrumby]

Just another night in Nashville!

I think this is the first time I've seen a western-facing stage area between 4th and 5th avenues. 

[Bark At The Sun]

A co-worker of mine took this photo yesterday.   They should keep that signal head permanent.

[markhollin]

Preds CEO Sean Henry talks about how the franchise landed the NHL Draft AND Awards Show as a combo unit for the first time ever in the NHL:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/06/27/q-a-how-the-nashville-predators-harness-hosting.html

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning. 
 

2,142 fences. 

[markhollin]

There was chatter in the "Surrounding Counties" thread about the new baseball stadium being proposed in Clarksville at the 30 acre Vulcan Riverside mixed-use project (also with 330 residential units, a hotel, brewery, retail, and live entertainment venues) along the river near downtown.

Some of the ideas being bandied-about included the Nashville Sounds relocating to this new stadium once an MLB team moves into Nashville, and then signing an agreement to become the AAA affiliate of the new Nashville MLB team.

This will not happen for several reasons:

1) The stadium being proposed looks to be about 3-5,000 capacity, and all AAA teams like to have at least 10,000 seats.

2) Clarksville is too small of a primary metro area with 350,000 in the immediate and 4 surrounding counties.  Most Triple A cities are in the 750,000 to 1.5 million range. This is not only for potential attendance draw, but also having a base of corporate advertising dollars to glean from.

3) A new (or relocated) MLB team is not going to want to have an AAA franchise just 45 minutes away.  Perhaps when Music City's Metro reaches the 4 million range they might be OK with it, but it would drain possible attendance and underwriting dollars no matter when it were to be put in place.

I DO think there is a possibility that Clarksville and this ballpark could be a good candidate for a Class A team, probably in the South Atlantic League.  There are currently 12 franchises there, including Bowling Green, KY (who might be upset that a new team is starting 68 miles away); Winston-Salem, NC;  Wilmington, DE; Rome, GA; Lakewood, NJ; Hudson Valley NY; Hickory, NC; Greenville, SC; Brooklyn, NY; Asheville, NC; and Aberdeen, MD.  Average stadium size in those markets is 5,700. 

The Class A Carolina League might also be a possibility, but Clarksville would stretch their footprint much further to the west than some of the other franchises might be comfortable with. Those cities are: Augusta, GA: Zebulon, NC; Charleston, SC; Columbia, SC; Salisbury, MD; Kinston, NC; Fayetteville, NC; Fredericksburg, VA; Kannapolis, MD; Lynchburg, VA; Myrtle Beach, SC; and Salem VA. Average stadium size in that league is 5,200.

There are also some unaffiliated independent leagues like American Assoc. of Professional Baseball (12 teams generally in Midwest to Plains states, although one franchise is in Texas), the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (10 teams in the NE, although one is in Lexington, KY), and the Frontier League (16 teams in NE, Midwest, and Eastern Canada). The average size of the ballparks for all 38 of those teams is 5,400.

I'm guessing that the owner of this new stadium will want to attract Austin Peay University's varsity baseball team as a tenant as well. 

This is the layout of the proposed Clarksville ballpark provided in a larger site diagram:

[PruneTracy]

I wonder if there would be a market for a statewide league, similar to the Appalachian League or Texas/Florida/California/Arizona (with the understanding those markets are not comparable to ours).

We seem to have a lot of A-sized markets, or those that could support summer collegiate or short-season teams, and also seems it would be more interesting for potential fans if Clarksville was playing Jackson or Cookeville or whomever instead of another team out of state. Would cut down on travel costs for teams and fans also.

[markhollin]

Vanderbilt's FirstBank Stadium has landed another permit, this one for $4.5 million, to create footings adn foundation work for the new south end zone segment of the stadium that will feature several levels of premium seating.

Work continues on the stadium’s press box and north end zone. A summer 2024 completion is eyed, with no seating in either end zone to be available for the 2023 season.

More behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/real-estate-notes-cannery-hall-to-open-by-year-s-end/article_eb84499e-2263-11ee-b431-17f11f575c45.html

 

[markhollin]

Clarksville's F&M Bank Arena is having it Grand Opening today. It will be the home for Austin Peay Univ. Basketball, as well as concerts and other events/shows. 

In regards to a minor league hockey franchise there (5,000 capacity for hockey), the options would not include the AAA American Hockey League—which is the top developmental league for the NHL.  The capacity is too small (average in AHL is 8,800) and the general metro of 350,000 would not be enough to sustain a profitable AHL franchise.

More reasonable options include:

Class A Southern Professional Hockey League with franchises in Birmingham, AL; Huntsville, AL; Evansville, IN; Fayetteville, NC; Knoxville, TN; Macon, GA; Pensacola, FL; Peoria, IL; Moline, IL; and Roanoke, VA.  Average arena capacity in those markets is 7,600.

Federal Prospects Hockey League with franchises in Winston-Salem, NC; Columbus, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Biloxi, MS; Detroit, MI; Port Huron, MI; Binghamton, NY; Danbury, CT: Elmira, NY; Watertown NY; and Wytheville, VA. Average arena size in the FPHL is 4,500.

Class AA East Coast Hockey League with 28 teams in 3 time zones.  The closest would be Duluth, GA; Greenville, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Savannah, GA; Charleston, SC; Cincinnati, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Ft. Wayne, IN.  Average arena size across the entire ECHL is 7,200.

Junior Hockey (non professional) might be a possibility via the North American Hockey League with 32 teams across 3 time zones.  The closest are Springfield, IL; Oklahoma City, OK; and Shreveport, LA. Average arena size in this league is 3,500.
 

[markhollin]

Vanderbilt Univ. First Bank Stadium upgrades and Basketball Operations Center update: Steel superstructure on the latter up to 3rd level.

Looking east from Natchez Trace at 26th Ave. South:

Looking NE from intersection of Natchez Trace and Jess Neely Drive:

New aerial render of complex hung on construction fencing:

[markhollin]

A new Arena Football League is being proposed, and Nashville will have one of the 16 franchises if all goes as [planned with the first games in 2024, according to TMZ.  No word on who the ownership group is, or where they would play.  The only reasonable choices would be Bridgestone Arena or Municipal Auditorium.  Initially there will be a 10 game schedule, plus playoffs.

The franchises appear to be:

Nashville, TN
Boise, ID
Austin, TX
Chicago, IL
Orlando, FL
Salem, OR
St, Louis, MO
St. Paul, MN
Tallahassee, FL
Everett, WA
Odessa, TX
Cincinnati, OH
Philadelphia, PA
Bakersfield, CA
Denver, CO
Lake Charles, LA

More behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/football/arena-football-league-reportedly-returning-to-nashville/article_a457d8a2-25a5-11ee-918f-ff873251005e.html


And the Tennessean:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2023/07/18/nashville-gets-afl-team-arena-football-league-team-2024/70428953007/
 

[Sean blackdog]

6 hours ago, markhollin said:

A new Arena Football League is being proposed, and Nashville will have one of the 16 franchises if all goes as [planned with the first games in 2024, according to TMZ.  No word on who the ownership group is, or where they would play.  The only reasonable choices would be Bridgestone Arena or Municipal Auditorium.  Initially there will be a 10 game schedule, plus playoffs.

The franchises appear to be:

Nashville, TN
Boise, ID
Austin, TX
Chicago, IL
Orlando, FL
Salem, OR
St, Louis, MO
St. Paul, MN
Tallahassee, FL
Everett, WA
Odessa, TX
Cincinnati, OH
Philadelphia, PA
Bakersfield, CA
Denver, CO
Lake Charles, LA

More behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/football/arena-football-league-reportedly-returning-to-nashville/article_a457d8a2-25a5-11ee-918f-ff873251005e.html


 

Maybe 

[MLBrumby]

On 7/15/2023 at 10:24 AM, markhollin said:

Vanderbilt Univ. First Bank Stadium upgrades and Basketball Operations Center update: Steel superstructure on the latter up to 3rd level.

Looking east from Natchez Trace at 26th Ave. South:

Looking NE from intersection of Natchez Trace and Jess Neely Drive:

New aerial render of complex hung on construction fencing:

John Glennon at the NP has more on this. Coach Lea spoke yesterday at SEC Media Days. He addressed several questions about the construction on campus. 

From NP:  https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/football/vanderbilt-football-under-construction-in-more-ways-than-one/article_db78d990-25bd-11ee-ae5c-7bd5452deb79.html 

From the article and more renderings from https://vucommodores.com/vandyunited/ 

So far, I have seen no official statement on what the capacity of Vandy (FirstBank) Stadium will be after this is completed. Probably about the same, as the North endzone looks like it has fewer seats than before. The South endzone looks to have about the same. 

https://vucommodores.com/vandyunited/#tabsImages-4 

Construction cam (with sound)...  

 

[Bark At The Sun]

[markhollin]

Vandy Basketball Operation Facility (4 stories) update: steel superstructure up to 3rd level.

Looking east from Natchez Trace, 1/3 block south of West End Ave:

[Sean blackdog]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/2023/07/26/indycar-music-city-grand-prix-downtown-nashville-lower-broadway-new-course-2024-season-finale/70471756007/
 

Music City Grand Prix 2024 season finale. 
Hope return  Nashville next few years. 

[markhollin]

F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville had its official opening a few weeks ago.  The $130 million 5,500 seat, 250,000 sq. ft.  venue also has an adjoining Clarksville Ford Ice Center.  Both facilities are owned by Montgomery County and will be operated/booked by Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment, a division of the Nashville Predators.

The venue’s primary tenant is Austin Peay State University men’s and women’s basketball teams. In addition, it can host other sporting events like hockey, concerts, rehearsals, banquets, conventions, trade shows and more.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/07/31/kylie-wilkerson-f-m-bank-arena-nashville-predators.html

Photos by Martin B. Cherry:

[downtownresident]

On 7/26/2023 at 6:43 PM, Sean blackdog said:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/2023/07/26/indycar-music-city-grand-prix-downtown-nashville-lower-broadway-new-course-2024-season-finale/70471756007/
 

Music City Grand Prix 2024 season finale. 
Hope return  Nashville next few years. 

It’s official, the Music City Grand Prix will be the 2024 season finale! 
 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucemartin/2023/08/03/all-roads-lead-to-nashville-for-indycar-in-2024-championship/amp/

I found the course on Reddit: