Massive construction site comes alive for East Bank's NFL stadium: 'Incredible path forward'
With the dig of a ceremonial shovel, Nashville will embark Thursday afternoon on the $2.1 billion Tennessee Titans stadium, a three-year, colossal construction project designed to elevate Nashville's status as a global destination.
The undertaking will span five football fields on the East Bank, across from downtown. The site, surrounded by a mile-long construction fence decorated with art from local students, is so vast it has its own name.
Titans Town.
Expect even more construction surrounding the site as this new NFL venue rises. The stadium is the centerpiece of a sprawling, Metro-led redevelopment of 300 industrial acres along the riverfront.
Thursday's groundbreaking also solidifies the end of another chapter, sooner than expected. The old Nissan Stadium — deemed obsolete by two separate engineering studies after only 25 years — will be demolished in stages after the 2026 season.
Engineers blamed the venue's low-quality designs and its exposure to the elements — from not being enclosed.
Moving forward, it will take a village to construct the Titans' new home.
On peak days, Nashville will witness 1,600 construction workers grading an even surface, pouring concrete and hanging massive metal panels as part of the complex East Bank development. A steady stream of trucks will move around 430,000 yards of dirt and supply the site with 18,000 tons of steel and 98,000 cubic yards of concrete. The construction manager, Tennessee Builders Alliance, is developing a logistics schedule with routes and timing that limit interruptions from increased traffic. There will also be a spacious staging area for trucks, equipment and materials.
Titans President Burke Nihill said the franchise is working closely with Metro and a broad group of community organizations to ensure economic wins are shared throughout the region.
"From the beginning, I believed there was an incredible path forward," Nihill said. "There doesn't need to be anyone through this process that is not in a better position than they were before we began this process."
Speaking of process, the building shell is scheduled to be in place by next year.
The final product is conceptualized as downtown's "front porch," boasting a wraparound deck offering panoramic views of the city. With wide concourses lined by diverse seating options and entertainment amenities, the 60,000-seat, multi-use arena aims to set a new standard for modern sports venues.
The stadium's design incorporates a transparent, circular roof, a 30,000-square-foot wraparound video display, high-speed internet access, luxury suites and various entertainment options.
New Titans Stadium cost: Who's paying for Nashville project?
The complex stadium deal between the Titans, the state of Tennessee and Metro Nashville includes repayment of the $1.26 billion in publicly-backed revenue bonds used to finance the majority of construction.
The Titans paid $860 million up front for the work in addition to any overages. Repayment of Metro's $760 million bond and the state's $500 million bond over the next 30 years depends on the stadium's ability to stay busy.
Advocates anticipate the stadium's success as an entertainment and economic nerve center to put it in line for a future Super Bowl, as well as other major events and large conventions. And a tourism industry study said it could draw an estimated $33.7 billion to the local economy over 30 years.
"Every Tennessean, from Memphis to Mountain City, should have a vested interest in the stadium," said Jacky Akbari, the president of Worthington Advisory, a Nashville-based economic development consulting firm. "The proof will be in measurable outcomes, not the glossy public relations materials.
"The impact of the stadium is not solely dependent on who gets the concessions contract or the shuttle bus contract. It will impact a barbershop or day care center 15 miles away. We should all be looking for early returns."
Economists, meanwhile, caution against optimistic expectations from new stadiums. Some believe they capture revenue that might have been spent elsewhere in the area — from local restaurants to theaters.
"Most of the fans going to Titans games are spending money on the Titans rather than spending at businesses with local proprietors," said Andrew Zimbalist, an economist who has studied stadium economics extensively.
How will new Titans Stadium benefit community?
Local benefits from the mammoth project range from property value increases and the Titans One Community benefits platform to a flood of jobs and training in skilled construction trades that pay an average salary of roughly $75,000.
Filling these jobs won't be easy. Tennessee has only 56 available workers for every 100 jobs, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Titans officials leading the One Community program have built a network with local nonprofits and businesses to find the best way to invest in community needs. So far, they have used their advertising reach to promote county property-tax relief programs; developed a $3 million fund for small business loans in partnership with TBA and Citizens Bank; mentored students in sports management and real-estate development; and provided grants to improve county school athletic fields.
"Every partnership and initiative is posted online with the agreements, and there's accountability in those contracts," said Adolpho Birch III, the Titans' Senior Vice President and Chief External & League Affairs Officer. "We will meet with Metro Council and a wide range of stakeholders on a periodic basis to monitor One Community's progress."
Where will WrestleMania 43 be held? Take a guess...
The Titans play about 10 home games a season (preseason and regular season, excluding postseason berths), so the franchise must book a variety of non-sports events to keep the venue generating sales taxes that will repay revenue bonds.
Already, the new stadium will be the home for Tennessee State University athletic events. The stadium designs include several smaller performance areas, including an adjacent community center to accommodate a range of event sizes.
Is there a model stadium the new Titans venue hopes to mimic?
Look no further than Las Vegas.
The $2 billion Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020 and has successfully filled its calendar with events. In 2022, it held only nine NFL games, but booked 197 total events.
Still, community support for stadiums vary. For example, in California, the leadership of Santa Clara has been at odds with the San Francisco 49ers since Levi's Stadium was built there in 2014. The venue just secured its second Super Bowl, but city and team officials continue to dispute the cost of security, traffic management and rent.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis' relationship with the Vikings is going strong after the NFL team repaid about $400 million in public construction bonds after just 10 years — instead of the expected debt term of 30 years. The rapid repayment was the result of lucrative profits from pull-tab gambling tickets.
But not every NFL stadium deal is a clear win.
Zimbalist said sports teams exaggerate the community benefits of these deals because new venues are so lucrative for them.
"Economists who study this issue have found there isn't an economic benefit from building a new stadium because most of the people going to the games will be giving money to the Titans owners who more likely than not live someplace else," Zimbalist said.
If the new Nissan Stadium's debut event is any indication, the coming multi-use entertainment center will open the city up to a new class of enormous productions.
The first big show in the new venue is scheduled in April 2027: WrestleMania 43. The world's largest professional wrestling event sold 80,000 seats two consecutive nights last year in Los Angeles and according to Applied Analysis, generated an economic impact of $215 million.
Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. President Deana Ivey said the stadium is poised to deliver more returns than Music City Center, another highly contested Metro-funded development. The convention center was a catalyst for downtown development in 2013 and has delivered economic wins beyond expectations. Music City Center reported last year a $110 million surplus in tourism-district tax collections.
"When you think about how our river has really been lacking in being an attractive asset for the city, the opportunities this creates are very exciting," Ivey said. "The stadium is a game-changer as far as Nashville being a destination that can pursue the bigger events like NCAA Final Four."
Beyond the stadium: How will project reshape Nashville?
This summer, a hiring center and offices with about 60 trailers will open at Titans Town. The camp will include classrooms for workforce-development training to help meet the demanding staffing requirements. The Titans have partnered with numerous job-training programs to attract and train workers, including Project Return, Goodwill Industries and the Martha O'Brien Center.
Tennessee College of Applied Technology will have its own trailer for worker apprenticeship programs.
Surrounding the stadium, an even more ambitious development plan is underway for an underdeveloped industrial stretch of East Bank riverfront stretching about 300 acres. Metro Nashville officials are working with state transportation leaders to develop infrastructure and initial development projects flanking the stadium.
They plan to activate the Cumberland River with public parks, plazas and marinas. A pedestrian bridge will connect the nearby Oracle campus with downtown.
Nashville leaders are planning the first stage of East Bank redevelopment on 30 acres of Metro-owned parking lots adjacent to the stadium. A proposed deal between Metro and the project's master developer, The Fallon Company, includes hotels and about 1,500 residential units. That includes about 700 apartments for families living below the median income. The first phase of construction is scheduled for 2026.
A deal to build a new Tennessee Performing Arts Center by the stadium is also making progress. Negotiations for a lease on land to build a new TPAC are in the final stages but must still receive Metro Council approval.
Ultimately, the success of the shared vision for a new Titans stadium and reimagined East Bank hinges on the complex interplay between the city, its residents, state authorities, Metro officials and NFL officials who collaborated to bring the project to fruition.
For now, Ivey said her marketing team is already attracting interest from major events.
"We have a couple confidential things we can't announce yet," Ivey said.
"When visitors come in, they spend a lot of money. It's not just the hotels and attractions and restaurants, it's the shops and transportation, rental cars and parking."
Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.
Cassandra Stephenson contributed to this report.
By the numbers
24: Total number of firms designing and planning the new Nissan Stadium.
32: Number of elevators in the new stadium.
1 mile: Size of fence surrounding the construction site.
50 pieces of art: Decorate the construction fence by local students.
$33.7 billion: Estimated total economic impact to Nashville's economy over the first 30 years of operation.
4,927: Number of full- and part-time jobs the new stadium will create.
13: Number of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (women or minority-owned) hired to design the project and create construction plans.
1.85 million square feet: Size of the completed stadium.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nissan Stadium: New Tennessee Titans football stadium breaks ground
