New Titans Stadium (60,000 capacity dome, ground level retail, directly east of Nissan Stadium)

[DDIG]

17 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

I think if the Titans want a stadium they will get their lawyers with the Metro lawyers and figure a way around this issue. Beggars will not be choosy with this issue. If the Titans force this issue which I don’t think they will, the they can kiss any new stadium good bye.

Are the Titans truly the beggars here? Their current lease agreement has Metro on the hook for a whole lot and the economics for the East Bank don't work well without heavy Titans participation in  a new agreement / approach.

[smeagolsfree]

22 hours ago, DDIG said:

Are the Titans truly the beggars here? Their current lease agreement has Metro on the hook for a whole lot and the economics for the East Bank don't work well without heavy Titans participation in  a new agreement / approach.

Maybe a poor choice of words, but I think it is in their best interest to work with Metro on these agreements to put some of this aside to get their new stadium and help Metro out. If Metro is going to put up hundreds of millions for a new stadium, then why would they have to put money into needless parking up front when they do not really need to at this time, with the future development that will be coming and the space that will be available when the old stadium comes down. There is still a lot of parking on the downtown side of the stadium that people are able to walk to the games.

These old agreements were without future vision of the ways things could work out.

[Melrose]

https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/09/14/cooper-titans-nissan-stadium-deal-update\

More delays on the stadium  financing plan being announced.   Will the Titans even be able to bring $700 Million in real funds to the table ?  

Will have to see how this delay impacts Metro  Council deliberations,  it's probably gonna be tough to get this through approvals  before January or maybe even later.

[nashvylle]

The council was never going to vote on a deal prior to the study being done on required work for renovations. That study is expected to be done in mid to late November. If a term sheet is presented in September, that gives council a full two months for review prior to the study, then all of December to vote. 

The meeting tonight should outline timing, however. 

For reference, in 2017 Venue Solutions said that $293MM needed to be done on the stadium. That number was just materials and did not include labor (a huge cost) and fees for contractors and designers. I assume all in that 2017 # would be closer to $500MM. Add in 5 years of inflation, I imagine we could be over $700MM, which may be the number being discussed. 

[nashvylle]

A good Twitter thread of the East Bank meeting tonight:

 

[samsonh]

6 hours ago, nashvylle said:

A good Twitter thread of the East Bank meeting tonight:

 

That meeting was a whole lot of nothing. I guess they have to wait until the study comes back to really dive into anything.

[markhollin]

Tom Cross, deputy director of Metro Law; Sam Wilcox, deputy mayor for policy and innovation and Kelly Flannery, the city's finance director, appeared at the meeting to share Metro’s guiding principles in negotiating a deal with the Titans, as well as factors and questions they are still exploring. 

“We’ve seen some speculation in the media that Metro stadium construction contribution is going to be a billion dollars. That is not accurate. While we are not prepared to share final numbers today, what we are committed to is that the Titans and private sources be the single largest funder of the stadium project,” Wilcox said during the meeting. “We will retain ownership of all stadium and campus property forsaken in the original lease in order to transform surface parking lots that are currently characterized as east bank today into community uses like affordable housing, multimodal transportation, parks.”

With the ultimate goal of keeping the Titans in Nashville for the long term — a new lease would likely be 35 years — Metro’s main priorities in negotiations are to reduce the involvement of the city's general fund, ensure that the private sector is the largest financial contributor, keep ownership of campus property, activate the campus in a way that benefits the community and find a solution that will create “significant” economic activity for the city. 

Flannery presented the financing priorities and status to the board.

As it stands, the primary public funding sources from Metro for a new stadium would come from a 1% increase in countywide hotel occupancy tax, in-stadium sales taxes and a campus sales tax from the 130-acre property — the boundaries of which have yet to be determined.

Metro’s laid out the following financing goals at the meeting:

Leverage primary stadium funding sources to maximize a revenue-only debt structure.

Ensure credit quality and minimize interest cost.

Identify a sufficient funding source to eliminate Metro’s existing unfunded responsibility for ongoing capital maintenance.

Metro has hired a team of advisors to assist in the financing plans: Hillstop Securities as municipal advisor; Inner Circle Sports as sports facility financing consultant; law firm Greenberg Traurig as stadium negotiations counsel; RCLCO as real estate consultant; and Bass, Berry & Sims as bond counsel.

Metro is still in search of a feasibility consultant and an underwriter.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2022/09/15/metro-nashville-outlines-priorities-in-a-tennessee.html

[markhollin]

More info from the meeting last Wed. between the Titans and the East Bank Stadium Committee:
 

While general obligation bonds are backed by property tax dollars, revenue bonds are paid using specifically designated sources of revenue − in this case, hotel and motel tax, and diverted sales tax.

That revenue comes with strings attached:

• State statutes dictate the proceeds from the 1% hotel occupancy tax must be used for construction costs and debt service for an enclosed stadium or future capital improvements to the stadium
• All sales tax proceeds from the stadium premises must be used to fund the capital costs for the stadium or debt service
• The partial sales tax diversion for the yet-to-be-defined 130-acre area surrounding the stadium would fund the capital expenses for the stadium, debt service and infrastructure necessary for the stadium to operate

State law does not provide for a referendum option on revenue bonds, meaning the public will not have the opportunity to vote directly on whether revenue bonds are issued.

Metro can backstop revenue bonds to offer additional security to bondholders if the revenues designated to pay the debt service do not perform as expected. Metro did this with a portion of the bonds for the Convention Center.

"That's a delicate balance because for every backstop we're putting on these special projects, that's another dollar we're taking out of our (general obligation) projects, because you can't pledge the same dollar twice, even though you might not actually be spending it on one of these deals," Metro Finance Director Kelly Flannery said.

Flannery does not intend to have Metro backstop revenue bonds for a new stadium and noted that the Titans have not asked Metro to do so during negotiations.

Due to current economic uncertainty, it is possible that Metro may need to ask the Council to backstop the bonds in a few years, she added.

And because the sales tax revenue sources are new and would not generate revenue until the stadium and surrounding buildings are operational, there could be a need to use alternate funding during the construction phase, like water and sewer payment in lieu of taxes revenue.

"It wouldn't pledge any of those resources to the future debt," Flannery clarified.

While Metro is responsible for maintenance of the existing stadium under its current least with the Titans, it's "unclear at this time" how such operating expenses would be addressed in the new stadium deal, according to special counsel for the Metro Council Office.

Excess funds from revenue bonds beyond what is needed to cover Metro's debt service could be put toward ongoing capital maintenance in accordance with the state's rules for how the hotel occupancy tax and area sales tax revenue can be spent, Wilcox said.

"We would be shifting (responsibility) off of the general fund, and if there were needs above and beyond that, the team would be accepting those responsibilities," he said.

Metro Council, with the approval of the state, will define the 130-acre sales tax boundary. It's not yet clear what will ultimately lie within that area or what public infrastructure would qualify to be funded using excess sales tax revenue dollars earmarked for the stadium and infrastructure needed for the stadium to operate.

The plan being negotiated would also require Metro to build structured parking, which has yet to be defined, as part of its overall contribution. Debt service on that expense is expected to be covered by excess stadium sales tax revenue.

What happens if revenues from the state-designated revenue sources exceed what is needed to cover the debt is yet to be determined.

And if revenues from the hotel occupancy tax and state-designated sales tax diversions far exceed what's needed to cover the debt service and capital maintenance, those excess funds would be unavailable for use toward other public needs.

"It can't go beyond the state-defined allowable use," Flannery said.

More behind the Tennessean paywall here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2022/09/19/nashville-football-stadium-officials-discuss-revenue-at-heart-of-negotiations/69496533007/
 

[MLBrumby]

If they keep playing like tonight they’ll be lucky if they get any upgrades to Nissan with taxpayers’ money. That’s not anything JQ Public will want to pay for. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by MLBrumby

[markhollin]

NashvilleNowNext has an ind-depth piece on the proposed new Titans' stadium:

https://nashvillenownext.com/2022/09/19/exclusive-titans-ceo-discusses-new-stadium-design-enhanced-fan-experience-alignment-with-imagine-east-bank/

A crisper rendering from a few months ago (but this is more for conceptual purposes--not a final design by any means):
 

[CandyAisles]

C'mon, Benny, man...the new Titans Stadium shape is an L 7 Weenie.

[markhollin]

 

Nashville Mayor John Cooper has struck a deal with the Tennessee Titans to build a new domed stadium.

An announcement, including details on the financing plan, will come ta 2:00 PM today following months of negotiations, multiple sources tell Axios.

https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/10/17/scoop-cooper-titans-reach-nashville-stadium-deal


Update summary, but nothing new to report in this piece at TheTennessean behind the paywall:  "Your burning questions about Nashville's NFL stadium deal."

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2022/10/17/nashville-nfl-stadium-deal-burning-questions-answered/69561514007/

[Kv615]

Any chance we see renderings with today's announcement? 

[Rick Dalton]

Titans country… let’s ride 

[Sean blackdog]

40 minutes ago, Kv615 said:

Any chance we see renderings with today's announcement? 

Cooper and Titans CEO Burke Nihill will address the media at 2 p.m. at the mayor’s office. 
From Nashville Post. 

[Kv615]

1 hour ago, Sean blackdog said:

Cooper and Titans CEO Burke Nihill will address the media at 2 p.m. at the mayor’s office. 
From Nashville Post. 

Yes, I understand that but was just curious if renderings of the new stadium will be part of the press conference.  

[nashvylle]

7 minutes ago, Kv615 said:

Yes, I understand that but was just curious if renderings of the new stadium will be part of the press conference.  

I do not think so, but I have heard the same firm that designed the LV Raiders stadium is working on this design. I have also heard from those that have seen renderings that it "looks amazing". 

[Bos2Nash]

14 minutes ago, nashvylle said:

I do not think so, but I have heard the same firm that designed the LV Raiders stadium is working on this design. I have also heard from those that have seen renderings that it "looks amazing". 

Correct, Manica Architecture is doing the concept work for the stadium. I know they have been interviewing local firms to be the AOR

[smeagolsfree]

 

Mayor, Titans to make stadium announcement | Metro government | nashvillepost.com

 

Tennessee Titans, Nashville Mayor Cooper agree to terms for domed stadium - Nashville Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

 

Funding for the projected $2.1 billion stadium — which also takes into account infrastructure costs and Nissan Stadium demolition costs — is broken into three main parts. 

The largest source is made up by the Titans, NFL and personal seat license (PSL) sales, which will contribute $840 million. The state previously approved $500 million, on the condition that the stadium is enclosed. 

The remaining $760 million will be funded by debt issued through the Metro Sports Authority, repaid by a 1% hotel/motel tax increase and stadium/campus sales and use taxes. These revenue sources are restricted only to stadium construction or costs such as future maintenance.

 

Tennessee Titans, Nashville mayor detail $2.1B Nissan Stadium deal (tennessean.com)

 

A new stadium could break ground as early as fall 2023 and be complete as early as the 2026 NFL season. Plans include a 1.7 million-square-foot stadium with a turf playing surface and capacity for up to 60,000 people. The stadium enclosure will likely feature a translucent, stationary roof.

 

State statutes dictate the proceeds from the 1% hotel occupancy tax can only be used for construction costs and debt service for an enclosed stadium, or future capital stadium improvements. Under the deal's current form, Metro would reserve the right to "turn off" the hotel occupancy tax once debt service is paid, according to Cooper's administration.

All sales tax proceeds from the stadium premises and the partial sales tax diversion for the yet-to-be-defined 130-acre area surrounding the stadium can be used only to fund capital costs for the stadium, debt service or the cost of infrastructure necessary for the stadium to operate for the duration of the lease.

The proposed site for the new stadium is perched at the center of Cooper's sweeping plan to transform a 338-acre stretch of the Cumberland River's east bank, which is currently home to parking lots, industrial land and 113 acres of Metro-owned property including the existing Nissan Stadium.

 

The 130-acre sales tax revenue boundary will be drawn by Metro Council with approval from the state and will likely encompass roughly a third of the area contemplated by the Imagine East Bank Vision Plan.

The plan would require Metro to provide a minimum of 2,000 parking spaces for stadium use compared to the current 7,500 spaces, releasing approximately 66 acres of Metro-owned land for other uses. The East Bank vision proposes this land could be dedicated toward a new multimodal boulevard, park space and affordable housing.

[MLBrumby]

$2.1 B for a stationary translucent roof and up to 60,000 seats!?!?  Not even a retractible roof, which Indy built for half the cost?!  They' ve just described the 1964 Astrodome!  

Edited October 17, 2022 by MLBrumby

[titanhog]

60k would be the smallest stadium in the NFL.  Is that a misprint?

[Rick Dalton]

Quality over quantity my friends

[samsonh]

16 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

$2.1 B for a stationary translucent roof and up to 60,000 seats!?!?  Not even a retractible roof, which Indy built for half the cost?!  They' ve just described the 1964 Astrodome!  

Yeah this is an incredibly disappointing result of all this talking. 

[WebberThomas4]

There are 3 stadiums in the NFL with translucent, stationary roofs. I’ve been to the Vikings stadium and it is amazing. 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by WebberThomas4

[tragenvol]

22 minutes ago, titanhog said:

60k would be the smallest stadium in the NFL.  Is that a misprint?

The minimum capacity requirement for a Super Bowl is 70K; if not a misprint....temporary expansion seating or NFL waiver?

Edited October 17, 2022 by tragenvol