The popularity of Nashville’s convention center has begun to strain against its capacity, causing leaders to think about a new master plan for the facility.
Conferences are already booking into the year 2030.
And Charles Starks, the CEO of the Music City Center, says the thousands of additional hotel rooms that are opening and now under construction mean that increasingly large events are considering coming to Nashville.
“I know it’s hard for people to believe, but being open up 6 years now, we have a continual lack-of-space issue that we face — meeting rooms and ballrooms in particular,” Starks told Mayor David Briley during a budget hearing Wednesday.
Starks said the challenge is a good one to have, as the Music City Center is seeing more bookings than ever. And the center has seen a multi-million-dollar surplus the past couple years.
After the hearing, Starks said the Convention Center Authority will soon hire a firm to work on a revised master plan.
He said an expansion will be considered — noting that existing spaces could be converted into more meeting rooms and that outdoor plazas could be altered, as has already happened in the years since the center’s 2013 opening.
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