The Finance Committee of the Tennessee State Senate voted on Wednesday to remove public funding for the proposed $2 billion domed stadium for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans from the 2022-2023 budget for the state of Tennessee.
State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) proposed two amendments to the budget that (1) removed authorization for the state of Tennessee to issue a $500 million bond to be used for the construction of the proposed stadium and (2) removed $55 million in taxpayer funding to service the interest payments annually of that bond debt.
Johnson’s amendments easily passed in a voice vote.
“I’ve had problems with this from the get-go,” Johnson told The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview late Wednesday.
“I’m not convinced this is a good deal for Tennessee taxpayers,” Johnson added.
The full state Senate is scheduled to vote on the budget, minus the public funding for the proposed Titans domed stadium, on Thursday morning, setting up a potential conflict with the Tennessee House of Representatives, which is currently scheduled to vote on the budget, anticipated to be passed in the State Senate, later on Thursday.
The surprising rejection of state funding of the proposed $2 billion Titans stadium by the state Senate committee on Wednesday now puts the entire project in doubt. The ownership of the Titans has said it will provide $700 million in funding for the proposed stadium, provided that the state funds $500 million through a special bond offering, and the Metro Nashville-Davidson government provides a significant portion of the additional $800 million the ambitious project would require.
The budget bill that has passed through all relevant committees in the House includes provisions that authorize the $500 million bond for the construction of the Titans stadium and the $55 million annual taxpayer payments to service the bond debt.
Sources tell The Star that a vigorous debate is anticipated in the House Republican caucus prior to a floor vote on the budget bill expected to be sent over by the state Senate.
House leadership, including Speaker Cam Sexton (R-Crossville) and Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), is strongly supportive of including the public funding provisions for the proposed Titans stadium in the final version of the budget bill that the House is expected to vote on later on Thursday. Rank and file members of the caucus, however, strongly oppose including those funding provisions.
Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) is also strongly in favor of including the public funding of the Titans stadiums provisions of the budget bill under consideration.
If the House passes a version of the budget bill that includes the Titans stadium funding provision, and the state Senate does not include such a provision, the conflict will be resolved in a conference committee.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, and Parler.
I don’t live in Nashville or do I believe that Tennessee tax payer dollars should be used to do something like help pay for a stadium that will benefit one specifically city especially one the Governor is in bed with. So shooting down the funding is the right thing to do.
I fully agree, taxpayer monies ought not be used in stadium construction. It is known the data, tortured enough, will say anything you want. They are not an economic jolt to the region. They are rarely paid off before a new facility is wanted (needed). Las Vegas just determined a baseball stadium, even if it would draw the A’s from Oakland, will not pay for itself. Local businesses actually suffer financially. Second, the volatility of sports should cause the public to take a step back and fully assess to include long term consequences. Charlotte County Florida spent millions building a part in Port Charlotte as a spring training home for the Rays and to serve as the home field for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, single A level. MLB shrunk the minor league teams so Stone Crabs no longer exist. That stadium sits vacant now until next spring for 6 weeks. Fresno, with tax payer monies built a home for the Fresno Grizzlies, a AAA affiliate of the Giants. They built the park to look like the major league park in San Francisco. Again, MLB contracted so Fresno is no a single A affiliate which is filled with players of tomorrow, recent high school graduates, but not MLB talent rehabbing for MLB return. Fresno taxpayers have to eat the bill much like Charlotte County eats the bill. The owners of the respective teams lost little. So, no to taxpayer funded stadiums.
Good! The Titans make lots of money. If they can’t stand on their own feet, they don’t deserve to exist.
This is a head fake only…the “amendment” is to make Sen. Johnson appear to be fiscally responsible, but the fact is the Senate will “Concur” with the House version, which will still have the Stadium funding included. The Senate will “appear” to be doing the “Conservative’ thing, while all along everyone knows the funding will be included. They are laughing up their sleeves at the little engines that pay the bills, paying no attention to our remonstrances.
Looks like your prediction was correct!
Finally, I agree with the senate on something. I surely hope that they stick to their guns on this.
They abandoned their guns and ran.
I’m thrilled that Sen. Johnson stepped outside his box and opposed the supposedly done deal of Titan’s welfare. I don’t think this would have happened if Sen. Johnson didn’t have a viable primary opposition candidate.
I take back my earlier comments about financial common sense. Now it looks like he was grandstanding. The funding got put back in, as the Senate rolled over and went with the House version. On the radio this afternoon, a glib Jack Johnson said “You win some, you lose some”. You might be a good Republican, Jack, just don’t call yourself a conservative anymore! And I’m sure half a billion dollars isn’t worth fighting over, I’ve got THAT in my back pocket as well.
Thank you Senator Johnson, for exhibiting financial common sense!!
Stop using taxpayer money for stadiums. The existing stadium is not paid for.
Not one dime of taxpayer monies need to be allotted for that stadium! Let the millionaire and billionaire players, coaches and owners pay for 100% of that project! After 2 years of hell because of Dr. Fraudski, a significant portion of our citizens are lucky to be eating much less pay for this stadium! It is offensive that they even consider it!