Tag: stadium

Rays Say in Letter That Stadium Deal Is Still in Effect

The Center Square
Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays ownership said in a letter that a $1.3 billion deal to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg is still in effect and the team is awaiting decisions by local officials on the bonds to help pay for the project.

The letter sent to the Pinellas County Commission on Friday said team Co-President “Brian Auld did not waver from our commitment to the new ballpark project” and blamed the commission for not honoring the spirit of the agreement reached in July to build a new stadium and multi-use development in the historic Gas Plant District.

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New Price of Tennessee Smokies Stadium in Knoxville Inflates to $114 Million

Kaitlin Housler

Knoxville city leaders recently announced the new multi-use stadium that will host Tennessee Smokies games and other events in the city is now estimated to cost $114 million – up from the project’s original estimate of $65 million. 

According to the city, the inflated final guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the stadium is due in part to “inflation and record-high construction costs.”

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Tennessee Titans Stadium Proposal Submitted to Metro Council for Approval

Kaitlin Housler

A final budget proposal for how the new Tennessee Titans football stadium will be funded has been submitted to the Nashville Metro Council by Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the football team.

The legislation will be subject to three readings, beginning at the council’s next meeting on March 7th. April 4th is the earliest possible date for the agreement to be finalized.

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Bill to Cut Nashville City Center Funding Calls into Question Tax Plan for New $2.2B Titans Stadium

The Center Square

A new proposed bill in the Tennessee not only proposes cutting some of the state tax funding to pay debt on the Music City Center, but it also calls into question plans to build a new $2.2 billion Tennessee Titans stadium.

Senate Bill 648, filed Thursday by Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, on behalf of Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, would change the way taxes flow to Metro Nashville to pay debt from the Music City Center, which opened in 2013. The bill does not yet have a House sponsor.

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Most Speakers at Public Comment Meeting in Bellevue Oppose New Tennessee Titans Stadium Deal

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Most speakers at the East Bank Stadium Committee public comment meeting held at the Bellevue Regional Community Center Wednesday evening expressed their opposition to the proposed deal for a new Tennessee Titans stadium.

The public comment meeting in Bellevue was the fourth in a series of five scheduled across the county by the East Bank Stadium Committee (EBSC) to hear feedback and comments directly from the community about the proposed $2.1 billion stadium.

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John Fredericks Commentary: The Ghost of Sid Gilman

John Fredericks

As a die-hard Titans fan, I have one thing to say: I love this team.

Not because we are overly talented or particularly fun to watch–we are neither. When we win, it’s some downright ugly football that usually includes seven 60-yard punts by our new phenom punter, at least one missed FG by fat Randy and a botched fourth and one on a dropped handoff off a silly trick play with Derrick Henry standing around in the backfield.

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Metro Council Gives Approval for Mayor Cooper’s Office to Pursue Development Partner for Stadium Area

Laura Baigert

At its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday evening, Metro Council gave approval for Mayor John Cooper’s office to pursue a solicitation for development of a portion of the Nissan Stadium campus.

By voice vote, an amended RS2022-1828 was approved unanimously, having advanced through three committees unanimously after it had been deferred at a previous Council meeting.

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The NFL Has No Documented Standards for ‘First Class,’ but Phrase Appears Numerous Times in New Titans Stadium Term Sheet

Laura Baigert

There is not a manual that states the NFL standards for stadiums, even though the language of “first class” is carried forward from the current stadium lease agreement and incorporated in the term sheet between Metro Nashville, the Sports Authority, the Tennessee Titans and the to-be-formed StadiumCo for the new stadium.

Burke Nihill, President and CEO of the Tennessee Titans (pictured above) shared the insight with the Nashville Metropolitan Sports Authority, at a special-called meeting held on Thursday, November 10 at Nissan Stadium, the team’s current home.

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Term Sheet Calls for Seven Separate ‘Definitive Agreements’ for the Stadium Projects

Laura Baigert

When Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the Tennessee Titans announced on October 17 that they had reached an agreement to build a new stadium, a 27-page term sheet was released that outlines the principal terms and conditions for the financing, development, construction, operation, use and occupancy of the multi-purpose, enclosed stadium.

The term sheet, however, is subject to the negotiation, preparation, execution and delivery of seven “Definitive Agreements” by the four parties – Metro Nashville government (Metro), the Nashville Sports Authority (the Authority), the Tennessee Titans (the Club) and a to-be-formed entity under common control of the Titans referred to as StadiumCo.

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‘The Cart Before the Horse’: Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston on Approval of the Stadium Term Sheet

Laura Baigert

Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston (District 26) says that the recent request by the mayor’s office that the city’s legislative body approve the stadium term sheet between Metro Nashville and the Tennessee Titans is a matter of “the cart before the horse.”

Johnston initially made the point during the October 26 meeting of the East Bank Stadium Committee, at which time the mayor’s representative Finance Director Kelly Flannery asked for approval of the resolution attaching the term sheet, a 1 percent increase in the hotel occupancy tax (HOT) and advancing a request for proposal to search of a developer for the Stadium Campus, and reinforced it several times relative to more than one point during a telephone interview with The Tennessee Star on Saturday.

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Nashville Committee Receives Overview of Legal Obligations for Tennessee Titans Stadium Repairs

The Center Square

Metro Nashville’s East Bank Stadium Committee heard an overview of its obligations for stadium repairs, including the legal department’s definition of the key “first-class condition” term at its most recent meeting.

The terminology is key as the committee evaluates the city’s options related to the current Nissan Stadium and the Titans’ proposal for a new $2.2 billion stadium, which could include as much as $1.5 billion in public funding.

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Metro Nashville Committee Won’t Seek Independent Review of Economic Numbers for Tennessee Titans’ New Stadium

The Center Square
Nissan International Stadium

Nashville’s East Bank Stadium Committee plans to parse information on a new projected $2.2 billion Tennessee Titans stadium deal once it’s announced, along with information on the city’s current lease obligations and a $200,000 stadium study the council has planned along with land-use requirements around Nissan Stadium.

But the group will not be producing its own economic impact and tax impact numbers related to the proposed project.

“I am guessing the council doesn’t have an appetite for spending $25M on its own professionals, or $5 million or $1 million or half a million,” committee chair Bob Mendes said in the group’s planning meeting. “So we’re, necessarily, going to have to rely on information from others on that. I assume we’re going to hear about that. When we’re going to get presented with an actual deal, there’s going to be a list of income streams and a look forward on what it generates over time. Sources and uses.

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Tennessee Legislature Approves $500M for New Titans Domed Stadium

The Center Square
LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee

The Tennessee Legislature approved $500 million of bonds for a new Tennessee Titans stadium as part of a record $52.8 billion budget on Thursday.

The Titans stadium funds were not initially included in budget appropriations passed by the Senate in the early afternoon after they were removed in committee on Wednesday, but later in the day the Senate concurred on the budget that the House had passed, including the Titans stadium funds.

The $500 million in bonds for the stadium will require $55 million in annual payments.

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California Businessman Wants to Build Another Sports Stadium in Nashville, This Time for Major League Baseball

Jason M. Reynolds

  California businessman John Loar is leading a charge to build another taxpayer-funded sports stadium in Nashville – this time for Major League Baseball. Loar and other baseball boosters plan to travel to New York City to meet with Major League Baseball, WSMV said. “What intrigued me about Nashville is just the growth, the corporate growth,” said John Loar, who is leading the efforts, earlier this year. “With the existing sports teams and just the music element to it, it has the Las Vegas vibe without the gaming.” The group, called Music City Baseball LLC, wants to build a stadium in a mixed-use project near Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, or the PSC Metals scrapyard. Loar has previously discussed finance options with public officials, according to a story by Ballpark Digest. That publication said his venture is called Music City Equity Group. Montreal, Portland and Las Vegas also are interested in pursuing baseball franchises, Ballpark Digest said. As The Tennessee Star reported last September, the Metro City Council decided to pay $275 million for a new soccer stadium instead of using the Titans’ Nissan Stadium, which itself needs $300 million in upgrades. Who is the man leading the…

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