Tuesday night country music’s Grand Ole Opry will return to its home venue five months after historic flooding submerged the famous stage. The Opry House required $20 million of repairs.
When the Cumberland River swelled over its banks, it submerged the Opry stage under four feet of water. The dressing rooms were also wrecked and audience seating had to be replaced.
One of the final touches before the reopening was returning a circle of wood taken from the original stage. Opry members Brad Paisley and Little Jimmy Dickens were the first to sing from the circle where so many country music legends have performed.
Paisley is slated to perform as well as Keith Urban. It will be a celebration and a milestone for the city’s economic recovery, but there’s plenty of work remaining even on the adjoining property. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is scheduled to reopen in November with a repair bill of more than $170 million. Opry Mills shopping mall is on an indefinite course to being back in business and has sued its insurance company for more money.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM