Nashville’s Metro Council took another step toward completing a deal for a new Titans stadium. Councilmembers on Tuesday night approved a term sheet that outlines how revenue and construction costs will be divvied up, and they signed off on a hotel tax increase to pay for it.
By getting out of the old lease, Metro hopes to save money by not having to maintain the current stadium. The city commissioned a study showing Metro would owe as much as $2 billion dollars to renovate Nissan Stadium, less than what they would put in for a new one.
But some councilmembers remain skeptical. Russ Bradford thinks this deal will only benefit East Bank.
“What’s in it for my district? My district keeps getting ignored by this administration but then, yet they want me to approve, get my vote on this. We’re not there yet,” said Bradford during the council’s meeting.
Councilman Robert Nash voted in favor of the term sheet. He reminded members that the non-binding agreement will be coming back to them for a final vote.
“I think it saves the city tremendous amount of money getting out of the old deal,” said Nash. “I think the revenue streams will be sufficient.”
To that end, councilmembers also approved a 1% increase to the hotel occupancy tax in a 27 to 5 vote — tax hike that’s meant to recoup the money spent on the stadium from tourists that come to visit it.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM