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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee To Propose $500M for New Titans Stadium With a Roof

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is reportedly going to propose $500 million for a brand new Tennessee Titans stadium, contingent on the stadium being equipped with a roof.

According to Tennessean, the Tennessee Governor’s representatives will be meeting with members of the state’s legislature on Tuesday (March 28th). They will be requesting the $500 million increase in debt to help fund the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium in Nashville. 

The new Tennessee Titans stadium bill will expand on the state’s “general-obligation” debt ceiling by $500 million. The funding is going to be contingent on a new stadium, which includes a new roof. This will make the new arena more “viable” to host future Super Bowl games and other events. 

Last year, Nashville and Titans officials were planning to use $600 million for renovations to the Nissan Stadium. However, reports reveal that more than $1 billion in repairs and maintenance is necessary in order for the stadium to be “first class.”

The state further committed a portion of its future sales tax proceeds to the stadium development area. This was in order to pay for construction. The Tennessee Titans then decided instead of pushing more funds into the Nissan Stadium, it would be looking into building a new, state-of-the-art stadium on the East Bank of the Cumberland River. 

Nashville Post reports there are currently five professional football stadiums with fixed roofs. These are Las Vegas, New Orleans, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. Five other stadiums have retracting roofs. Those are Dallas, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston, and Arizona. The remaining 20 stadiums are “open-air.”

Along with having the opportunity to host the Super Bowl, the potential enclosed stadium will be notably more “desirable” for other major sporting events. This includes the NCAA Tournament Final Four, college football playoffs, and even the FIFA World Cup. 

Nashville Mayor Responds to Tennessee Titans Stadium Plans

Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s office released a statement about the Tennessee Governor’s potential proposal. “We appreciate and welcome the Governor’s willingness to make this potential investment in Nashville. For the last twenty years, we’ve loved hosting the Tennessee Titans under the original lease. And that first lease now obligates us to provide and maintain a first-class stadium.”

The Mayor’s office further states that Mayor Cooper is committing to two goals for the project. “Keeping the Titans in Nashville for generations to come. And doing that in a way that does not divert tax dollars from education, affordable housing, infrastructure, or other general fund obligations.”

The Mayor’s office also declares that it is continuing to study stadium options that allow the city to keep those two goals. The Nashville Post also states that the new stadium is rumored to have approximately 60,000 seats. It will be constructed using steel instead of concrete. This means it will be more in line with the NFL’s “current standards.”

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