Hashing out a deal to relocate the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to the East Bank, finalizing the layout of a planned central boulevard through the new neighborhood and resolving tension with the state and some business interests remain key goals of Metro’s ongoing development of the land around Nissan Stadium and its under-construction replacement.
But another open question remaining in the background revolves around parking.
As part of the city’s deal with the Titans, Metro must provide at least 2,000 parking spaces around the future Nissan Stadium, with the team keeping revenue from gamedays and most other events. It’s unclear, so far, where exactly those spots will be and how they will be financed.
Much of Nissan Stadium’s surface parking is now occupied by the construction of the future venue. Much of the rest will be developed as part of Metro’s agreement with The Fallon Company.
“We will continue to provide the agreed upon 2,000 spaces on event days,” Julie Smith, spokesperson for Mayor Freddie O’Connell, told the Banner. “The interim solution is to utilize existing surface parking lots, however, long term we will look for opportunities to partner with private development to construct the required 2,000 spaces throughout the Metro campus. We are being deliberate to make sure we maximize opportunities as they arise so no current timeline or expected costs are currently available.”
Bob Mendes, the mayor’s office representative leading East Bank negotiations, is leaving the administration next month.
The Titans have been pleasantly surprised by gameday vehicle egress this season. Parking has been dispersed from the vast old lots adjacent to the stadium to more varied options, and that has reduced traffic congestion for fans leaving games. Kate Guerra, vice president of communications for the team, said there are 20,000 parking spots within a mile of the stadium. But the team has also been working with WeGo, Walk Bike Nashville and other entities to encourage alternative transportation. WeGo buses are now free on gamedays, financially supported by the team, and the transit agency has touted ridership increases.
“We started thinking outside the box a little bit,” Guerra said.
WeGo has also added new gameday routes to the stadium from Bellevue and Sumner County. The special gameday WeGo Star train route remains popular. Plans for the East Bank include development of a WeGo transit center.
“This is an opportunity for us to lean into transit,” said District 19 Metro Councilmember Jacob Kupin, who represents the East Bank district. “For major events, 60,000 people are all going to one space. And so to me, it’s a real opportunity to get people used to transit, seeing the benefits of transit.”
Kupin, who was not on the council when it approved the deal, is among those uncertain about the financing of the city parking spots. He questioned whether the city will be able to secure financing for the spots with gameday revenue pledged to the team.
Mendes confirmed to the Banner that it would be difficult to secure revenue bonds to build the parking spaces because the team gets the gameday revenue. But he said there are “creative solutions” on the table, including splitting costs with developers like Fallon or leveraging future sales tax revenue from the campus.
“We’re trying to balance making sure that we always have adequate parking with making sure that we don’t buy too much parking that we don’t really need,” he said.
As it develops plans to provide 2,000 parking spaces to the Titans, the city is seeking to avoid creating large tracts of parking that mostly sit unused outside of gamedays.
“The land on the East Bank is a valuable asset for many reasons — the literal value but also the potential it represents for our community as a gathering space, place for new housing and neighborhoods, parks, new commercial spaces, and other exciting community uses,” Smith said. “We want to ensure we keep the big picture of this 550-acre development in mind and avoid replacing mostly unused or underused parking spaces with other mostly unused or underused purposes.”
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