Sports Authority Does Away With Finance Committee

Nashville’s Sports Authority decided today it no longer needs a finance committee. The board oversees relations between the city’s professional sports teams and their venues.

One member of the board argued the finance committee is vital to thorough research, saying the full board won’t take the time to study important questions in detail.

But Board Chair J.D. Elliott says the full board is up to the job.

“That’s up to me as chair to be sure that we do that effectively at our meetings, and then that question will go away.”

At today’s meeting, others argued the board needs a specialized committee to drill full-bore into financial questions and make recommendations. They said the full board won’t take the time needed to zoom in on key details.

But Ralph Perrey argues the board has proven it can handle those matters directly. Problems with the Nashville Predators’ lease agreement kept the finance committee busy last year. But Perrey argues the full board wound up repeating a lot of that research.

“We had long meetings; we had frequent meetings, and the entire board took up those matters in great and excruciating detail. Certainly we’re capable of it; it’s a smart group of people, they all have the best interests of the city at heart, and I don’t have any reservations about the board’s ability to do that.”

Members also say if some issue requiring a dedicated finance committee comes up, they can create one later on.

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You can hear part of the board’s disucssion about whether to have a finance committee here:

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FLOOD DAMAGE UPDATE:

A fresh round of repairs from last month’s epic flooding began today at Bridgestone Arena, the Nashville Predators’ home.

They’re restoring the bottom level of the arena, at a cost of some $650 thousand. And officials say the job should be done by early September, well before the start of hockey season.

At an update on flood damage with the city Sports Authority today, officials also described a sinkhole just outside LP field, some 5 feet deep and 30 feet wide. They say sub-standard building material beneath a layer of concrete may be partly to blame.

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