Jump to content

Will a World Cup, Olympics, Superbowl, etc., ever happen in Nashville?


Recommended Posts

Well, the title pretty much says it all: will Nashville ever host a major international sporting event like the Olympics or World Cup, or a national level event like a SuperBowl or NCAA Basketball or Football National Championship?

 

It has plenty of places it could build a stadium for a World Cup event or an Olympic Park.  LP Field is going to need to be replaced before you know it, anyway, and whatever it is could be built for conversion a la Atlanta's Turner Field.

 

Not sure if any existing stadiums are big enough to host a Super Bowl or NCAA Football National Championship, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 2
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Ever? Ever is a long time, man. Nashville may be the center of the universe sometime in ever.

 

 

But anyways...I'll take that as in the next couple of decades...

 

I think the Olympics is an extreme long shot. It city or not, the field is crowded. Aside from being a bit on the small side, I think there are probably a dozen cities the USOC would prefer before we would even be acknowledged (and then we would probably be in a group of at least another dozen or more cities all wanting the chance).

 

The Superbowl is a possibility. Not a great possibility...but a possibility. The hangup in the past was weather. Well...New York hosted in an outdoor venue. Is that precedent or a special exception? Regardless, the current MO of the NFL is to host in new stadiums, or in the usual rotation of tropical or mild environs. Either way, we're probably going to have to build a new stadium. A dome stadium would certainly land us on the short list for hosting a SB. Indy has hosted. Jacksonville has hosted. I don't see why Nashville couldn't. I do think LP has a bit of life left in it, though. The design isn't new, but it isn't obsolete, either. We don't need to be like Atlanta and start torching 15-20 year old stadiums. Without a radical change in design/function, I see no reason why stadiums that are properly maintained can't last 30-50 years. My problem with building a dome stadium is that dome football blows. It's a game meant to be played in the elements. It's not basketball.

 

The NCAA (or whatever it is after that disgusting organization is dismantled) MEN'S Championship would basically require an NFL stadium with a dome (note: we held the Women's Championship this year -- the men's typically requires a setup that can seat 2x what a large arena would fit).

 

The College Football National Championship will not happen here. We have a better shot at the Olympics. Not even kidding. 

 

 

 

The best opportunity listed is the World Cup. Not the finals game...but A game. That is, if FIFA decides to not be super corrupt and actually award countries capable of handling the event. When the US submitted its bid, Nashville was on the list of potential host cities (the list of 70 stadiums was narrowed to 21 in 18 cities: Nashville made the final cut -- if the US had won the bid, then we would've hosted).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The closest chance we have at the big events is the World Cup, should the US get picked to host. The infrastructure doesn't have to be massive since the games are spread throughout the different sites. 

 

The Superbowl I could see coming here, but ONLY if we had a new stadium and some more hotels. I think Nashville would be perfect for one due to our entertainment abilities and central location, but we would definitely need a new stadium and more hotels to support it.

 

NCAA Championship? Basketball sure, football nope. We simply don't have the historical Bowl Games to offer. I'm interested to see how things play out with the new playoff system though. It would be nice to land a SEC Championship game, but Atlanta has a lock on that one. 

 

Olympics? Not a chance. WAY too much to build and simply not worth the investment. Look at how long it took to get a AAA baseball stadium built. 

 

I still think Nashville could host a big Nascar race, but something major would have to happen. The Superspeedway was a very poor and half hearted attempt by Dover. I still don't understand why they did it if they knew they weren't going to get into Sprint Cup. I am interested in the new plans for the Superspeedway though....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.