The Nashville Predators are poised to offer to front the cost of millions in upgrades at Centennial Sportsplex as part of a new lease agreement.

The team will make its initial pitch to the Metro Parks Board at the group’s Oct. 7 meeting. The Predators are seeking approval for an agreement including both of the facility’s ice rinks and the concession area, which the team would operate in the same way it manages the Ford Ice Centers in Antioch and Bellevue.

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In return, the Predators would be responsible for “major capital improvements” both at the beginning and throughout the term of the lease, according to the Parks Board’s next meeting agenda, and the city would also receive a share of the net revenue generated through ice rink operations.

“We believe this transformational opportunity represents yet another evolution of our long, prosperous relationship with Metro Parks,” Predators CEO Sean Henry said in a letter sent to board members ahead of the meeting. “Over the years, the Predators and Metro Parks have collaborated on successful public-private projects such as Ford Ice Center Antioch and Ford Ice Center Bellevue, playground builds, community ball-hockey rinks and joint philanthropic initiatives. This proposal is not a new experiment, but rather, it’s a deliberate escalation of a proven partnership built on trust, shared goals and mutual success.”

Here’s what else to know about the agreement that will soon begin working through the process toward approval.

What are the nuts and bolts?

While the meeting agenda is light on specifics, Henry’s letter provides a few more details about what the new lease agreement — which would run for more than two decades through 2049 — would look like if it’s approved.

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Key among those is at least a loose idea of how much money the Predators could be investing in the ice facilities: an estimated $30 million or more. The letter also notes that the Predators would assume all day-to-day operating costs and relieve the city of a “sizeable annual subsidy,” though a specific dollar amount isn’t listed.

The deal wouldn’t mean the Predators are taking over the entire building, though. In his letter, Henry says Metro Parks would continue to operate the aquatics center, fitness center and tennis courts at Centennial Sportsplex, and the city would retain ownership of the building as a whole.

“Nothing is being transferred to the Predators,” the letter reads. “Centennial Sportsplex will continue to be heavily used by the general public for figure skating, hockey and open skate offerings, the only difference is that the city no longer has to bear the burdensome costs of operating, maintaining and insuring the facility.”

Who will be able to use the facility?

The lease agreement wouldn’t privatize Centennial Sportsplex as a whole, though the deal would come with “millions of dollars in private investment” to bring the Predators’ practice space in the building up to NHL standards, according to the letter.

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The letter also says millions will go toward public-facing improvements benefiting more than just the professional athletes inside the building — or even just one competitive team. Henry notes that the facility improvements would make space for Tennessee State University’s new Division I hockey team, which previously delayed its first season to 2026-27 to get its resources in order.

Henry also signals an intent to not only maintain all the current programming on the ice at Centennial Sportsplex but to expand on what’s on offer. That could include bringing in free or low-cost programs currently only offered at the Ford Ice Centers.

What happens from here?

While the Predators’ appearance at the Oct. 7 meeting will kick off the process for seeking approval, Henry’s letter notes that the board won’t be taking a vote right away. Instead, the proposal will first go back to a Parks Board committee and then be taken up for a vote by the full board at its November meeting.

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If it’s granted Parks Board approval in November, the Metro Nashville Council will be the next stop for the lease agreement. That’s the body that will ultimately be responsible for final approval, which would come after three readings at future meetings.

Looking beyond the approval process, Henry notes that the scope of improvements the Predators are considering wouldn’t lead to Centennial Sportsplex needing to shut down for a significant period. Instead, ice would only be unavailable for installations or replacements that the letter notes are “usually made in just a few days.”

“Even then, with two rinks, we do not envision a time when both rinks will be shut down for a prolonged period,” Henry’s letter reads. “Our goal is to limit shutdowns as much as possible and should a full shutdown of the facility need to occur, we commit to limiting that time to the minimal amount necessary to complete the work.”

Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators seek to fund Centennial Sportsplex upgrades in lease