Tennessee Titans To Get $2.1 Billion Home Field

After an occasionally contentious public hearing and debate, Nashville’s Metro Council last night greenlighted a $2.1 billion financing plan for a new indoor Tennessee Titans stadium, capping a year-long debate that included passionate advocacy for and against. The outcome ensures that the NFL Titans will remain tethered to the city, where the former Houston Oilers moved 25 years ago.

Backers contend that the new stadium will position Nashville to host major events like Wrestlemania, the SEC football championship game, college-football playoffs, and major wintertime concerts. The presumption is that the city will now also be eligible to host the Super Bowl, like other NFL cities that built new stadiums.

A rendering of the Tennessee Titans’ future home

Propelling the positive vote was the concern that repairing the existing 24-year-old Nissan Stadium would cost as much as $1.8 billion, for which the city would largely be on the hook. The deal was also viewed as key to development of one of the last remaining downtown swathes of real estate in the rapidly developing city, on the bank of the Cumberland River near the existing stadium.

Financing was critical to the vote’s outcome. As structured, the Titans are responsible for $840 million of stadium funding and any cost overruns; $500 million will come from a contribution by the state.

“We’ve eliminated a billion-dollar liability created by an aging stadium lease and created a platform for the city to thrive for decades,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper told a local news outlet. “This was always about more than football. This vote unlocks the East Bank vision for Nashville’s next generation.”

Opponents, on the other hand, maintained that the plan and the vote was rushed and would benefit tourists and the city’s moneyed interests more than its residents. One critic called it “a generational mistake.”

Construction will begin in 2024, with completion targeting the start of the 2027 NFL season. Nissan Stadium will remain the Titans’ home in the interim. Tennessee State University will also use the new stadium as its home field.

A Wave of Venue Construction

The Titans’ new venue comes at a time when other teams and cities are having similar conversations. The Chicago Bears have proposed building a multibillion-dollar stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Arlington Heights, IL, instead of renovating the urban Soldier Field. The city of Chicago offered a competing plan for $2.2 billion in upgrades to Soldier Field, but the Bears have not made a final decision. The teams’ quests for new stadiums come as several pro-football facilities have opened across the country, including the $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Design of the Titans’ new stadium is by Kansas City-based MANICA and is heavy on exterior terraces, providing fans with panoramic skyline views. The venue will also feature a 12,000-sq.-ft. space for year-round community use and will have an ETFE translucent roof.

The building will be slightly smaller than previous NFL standards with a capacity of about 60,000. Unlike Nissan Stadium, it will be enclosed and use artificial turf instead of grass.

No plans have been announced regarding the new stadium’s broadcast facilities.