A newly-formed committee has been tasked with helping book and raise private funds to support major events for the recently-approved Tennessee Titans stadium, according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC).
The stadium, officially approved on April 26 by the Metro Nashville City Council, is set to open in 2027.
The Music City Host Committee’s first order of business, according to the NCVC, is to book the Super Bowl, 2031 NCAA Men’s Final Four, and college football National Championship at the new stadium.
The NCVC notes that it has already partnered with the Tennessee Titans to submit a letter of interest to the NFL for the Pro Bowl, Combine, Draft, and Super Bowl. In addition, NCVC is working on submitting a bid for the 2031 NCAA Men’s Final Four and looking into hosting WrestleMania, which plans to be in Nashville in 2027.
As noted by Deana Ivey, President and incoming CEO of the NCVC, hosting major global events requires from $10 million to $50 million each in private funds. The Committee’s job, Ivey notes, is to “help strategize on which major events to go after and help raise the money we will need once Nashville is chosen.”
The Committee, chaired by former Tennessee Governor and current owner of the Nashville Predators Bill Haslam, is made up of the following group of Nashville business leaders:
- Beth Chase, Entrepreneur and Founder, c3/consulting
- Eric Church, Country music artist
- Eddie George, Head Football Coach, Tennessee State University
- John Ingram, Majority Owner, Nashville SC, and Chairman, Ingram Industries Inc.
- Kevin Lavender, Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Banking, Fifth Third Bancorp
- Cary Mack, Managing Partner, Southwest Value Partners
- Rob McCabe, Chairman, Pinnacle Financial Partners
- Stuart McWhorter, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
- Burke Nihill, President and CEO, Tennessee Titans
- Howie Nuchow, Co-Head, CAA Sports
- Colin Reed, Executive Chairman, Ryman Hospitality Properties
- Butch Spyridon, Outgoing CEO, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, and Strategic Consultant
- Ben Weprin, Founder and CEO, AJ Capital Partners
- Marcus Whitney, Founding Partner, Jumpstart Health Investors, and Minority Owner, Nashville SC
- Carol Yochem, President First Horizon Bank, Middle Tennessee Region
- Deana Ivey, President and incoming CEO, NCVC (ex-officio member)
- Scott Wright, Senior Vice President, Sales, NCVC (ex-officio member)
“I am excited about what the new stadium can mean for Nashville and the State of Tennessee. Our committee intends to make sure the stadium is the home of great events that will generate excitement and revenue for years to come,” Haslam said in a statement. “I am thankful to the NCVC for their work in making Nashville a global events city, and I appreciate these business leaders for their dedication to ensure the stadium benefits the city, local businesses and residents.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Eric Church” by Eric Church. Background Photo “Stadium” by Jake Weirick.
Is this supposed to make us taxpayers change our minds about giving away billions in tax dollars so that the elite can have their toys – at our expense? They must be more stupid than I thought. Well, I know no one on the committee but they do not impress me.
/Would be better called, ” the music city committee of Carpetbaggers “.
Boondoggle and Haslam, two words that always go great together.