The NFL’s Tennessee Titans won final approval from the city of Nashville for a $2.1 billion domed stadium, a deal that includes a $1.2 billion public subsidy that's the largest for a stadium in U.S. history.
The Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan Government voted to approve the stadium, the final step required step before construction. The deal includes a plan to develop 66 acres around the new downtown stadium for parks and affordable housing. Nashville is likely to be awarded a future Super Bowl as a reward for the new stadium, according to Pro Football Talk, an NFL news site.
Professional sports franchises and university athletic departments are racing to build new stadiums and arenas to maintain and help increase revenue from ticket sales. The Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills of the NFL are exploring new stadiums. The Oakland A’s baseball team recently bought land in Las Vegas for a planned stadium.
The deal spotlights the debate over government subsidies for professional sports properties and corporate headquarters. Critics have questioned whether the amount of aid given to profitable entities is worth the economic return.
Nashville argued that the Titans stadium agreement is a good deal for local taxpayers because it “removes $1.75 billion-$1.95 billion [of] unfunded taxpayer burden” associated with the existing stadium. Local taxpayers are currently responsible for that amount to cover the costs of required stadium maintenance and upgrades. The subsidy is the largest in U.S. history for a sports stadium, according to Front Office Sports.
The state of Tennessee will pitch in $500 million for the new stadium. The city will also raise the local hotel sales tax by 1%.
The Titans will provide $860 million through loans from the NFL and season-ticket sales.
The Titans will be responsible for construction cost overruns and maintenance expenses. The team will pay off $30 million of bonds used to construct the existing Nissan Stadium and waive $32 million of maintenance invoices it had submitted to the city.
The city agreed to lease the new stadium to the Titans for 30 years. It's expected to open in 2026.
The Titans, previously known as the Houston Oilers, left Houston in 1996 and later changed the team name to the Tennessee Titans.
For the Record
Architecture firms Manica in Kansas City, Missouri, and Hastings in Nashville created the initial designs for the new stadium. CAA subsidiary Icon Venue Group is a consultant to the Titans on the stadium development.