First Horizon Park - Home of the Nashville Sounds

[SoundScan]

1 hour ago, bigeasy said:

Well considering the Titans only have 8 home games and the capacity is 69K it wouldn't be that hard to beat. Sounds have 71 home games with capacity of 10K.

I wonder where they got that number for the Sounds though. I am guessing just ticket sells which is usually a BS number. That is how the Titans report attendance I believe, so they technically had 553K 3 years ago. (probably 400K were away fans haha)

 

Side note: Vanderbilt only had like 187K in attendance last year with an average of 31K

That was my point, that a minor league baseball team has similar attendance numbers to an NFL team. Something to consider when the Titans ask the city to pony up $1B+ for a new stadium in 10 years. It would be interesting to see a study of the actual economic impact of the individual major sports franchises in the Nashville area. I would imagine the Predators are well ahead of everyone else at this point. Ironically, the Titans' poor on-field performance over the past decade has likely improved their overall economic impact as visiting teams' fans treat the city and Nissan Stadium as a "home away from home." Bad for Titans fans (like me) but good for business.

[japan]

Like you said, the Titans and the Preds bring outside tourists to the city while the Sounds do not.  

[NashvilleObserver]

1 hour ago, japan said:

Like you said, the Titans and the Preds bring outside tourists to the city while the Sounds do not.  

Also, Football and Hockey are thrilling, and Baseball is not.

I don't mean to offend, but at a Preds game, the noise, the excitement, and the entertainment value is through the roof. The First TN Park literally has a 9 hole mini-golf course to keep you entertained. The outfield bar with couches, televisions, ping pong, cornhole, foosball, and shuffleboard, is why I go to Sounds games. 

I know, I know, the Preds are a major league sports team that has millions of dollars behind them, and the Sounds are a minor league-team in a medium-sized city, so of course there's going to be a big contrast, but my point is, there's is an extreme difference in the experience you have at any baseball game compared to hockey games.

@Titans10 you're right, First TN Park is usually half-empty (except for the crowded outfield entertainment area) and there are usually people milling about, bored.

I really hope the love of Soccer is far stronger than the love of Baseball in this city.

 

[Neigeville2]

I prefer baseball.

[markhollin]

Found these aerial shots of the ballpark under construction from 4 summers ago (courtesy of Aerial Innovations):

 

[markhollin]

Looking north from 41st floor of 505 CST.

[jmtunafish]

The Sounds have parted ways with the Oakland A's and are rumored to be courting either the Texas Rangers or the Washington Nationals as their MLB affiliate.  Personally, I'm hoping for the Rangers.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/09/17/youre-out-sounds-oakland-as-end-partnership.html

[nashvylle]

On 4/4/2018 at 7:02 AM, markhollin said:

Looking north from 41st floor of 505 CST.

So rarely do you see this angle of Nashville. It was hard for me to recognize the city at first- Germantown is becoming such a cool neighborhood. 

[MidTenn1]

17 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

The Sounds have parted ways with the Oakland A's and are rumored to be courting either the Texas Rangers or the Washington Nationals as their MLB affiliate.  Personally, I'm hoping for the Rangers.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/09/17/youre-out-sounds-oakland-as-end-partnership.html

Per Ballpark Digest, it looks like we are down to either the Milwaukee Brewers or the Washington Nationals.

Quote

After Oakland and Las Vegas signed a new affiliation deal yesterday, there are five open affiliations at Triple-A. The New York Mets purchased the Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International League) and are expected to shift affiliation there. With the Colorado Springs Sky Sox moving to San Antonio for 2019, it’s expected the Texas Rangers will shift affiliation from Round Rock to San Antonio. Nashville and the Fresno Grizzlies will be seeking new MLB partners from Milwaukee (a former parent of the Nashville Sounds) and Washington.

I think I would prefer the Nationals.

[tragenvol]

Texas Rangers.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2018/09/18/nashville-sounds-new-mlb-affiliate-texas-rangers/1349980002/

[nashvylle]

When are the sounds going to build their residential buildings and have RET go towards paying debt to the construction of the stadium? I can't believe it has taken this long. The city should have had a clause that enabled them to sell that land if not developed by a certain date. 

[bigeasy]

I don' follow baseball at all, so will this be a pro for the Sounds?

[DDIG]

7 minutes ago, bigeasy said:

I don' follow baseball at all, so will this be a pro for the Sounds?

Are you talking about Affiliation? I don't think it really matters. Triple A is the highest classification but it tends to be more for career minor league players. Single and Double is where teams play their real prospects to get them ready for the majors. 

[bigeasy]

10 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Are you talking about Affiliation? I don't think it really matters. Triple A is the highest classification but it tends to be more for career minor league players. Single and Double is where teams play their real prospects to get them ready for the majors. 

Yeah that is what I was talking about. I wasn't sure if this would mean the team would be better or worse.

[markhollin]

Can't recall if this was posted before, but here is a reissue of The Tennessean's excellent 9 part (inning)  piece from  a while back on the history of baseball in Nashville, starting around the time of the Civil War. Lots of photos of Sulpher Dell Stadium through the years, etc.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/baseball/2015/04/10/nashville-sounds-sulphur-dell-baseball-stadium/25482503/

[tragenvol]

On 9/19/2018 at 12:56 PM, bigeasy said:

Yeah that is what I was talking about. I wasn't sure if this would mean the team would be better or worse.

Worse...no more Moneyball, and the Rangers farm system is garbage.

[markhollin]

With First Tennessee Bank merging with its new parent company, First Horizon National Corp., that means the stadium will undergo a name change starting in the fall.  It will be some variation of "First Horizon Park."

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2019/06/12/first-tennessee-bank-change-name-first-horizon-bank/1435710001/

[markhollin]

^ ^ ^  Indeed, it will officially now be "First Horizon Park.

Also:

Since the ballpark opened in 2015, more than 2.5 million people have attended about 150 events have been held at the facility, including the venue’s first major concert headlined by Kings of Leon.

More behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/education/belmong-university/article/21083846/of-note-23-aug-2019

[Bark At The Sun]

Went to a game there about a month ago for the first time since the park opened and i was very impressed.  Parked in the garage south of the stadium and walked through the fun zone (ping pong, corn hole and golf).   They really did a good job planning and constructing the stadium.  It was Throwback Thursday and they had Yee Haw beer for $3.

[Rockatansky]

On 8/23/2019 at 8:58 AM, markhollin said:

2.5 million people have attended about 150 events

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say there have been 2.5 million admissions? I'm guessing that a fair number of those attendees have been counted more than once.

[markhollin]

Nice to see the baseball park finding additional ways to generate income and public usage during the off-season.  This will also be a nice tie-in with the New years Eve Celebration a block away at Bicentennial Mall.

Glow, a large-scale Christmas attraction (stylized as GLOW) that expects to feature more than 4 million lights, will soon take over First Horizon Park, home to the Nashville Sounds. From Nov. 22 through Dec. 31., Glow will feature holiday-themed art sculptures, ice skating, snow tubing and one of the country’s tallest Christmas trees.

This will be Glow's debut; Stacey said Glow and the Sounds have agreed to a six-year lease agreement. Tickets start at $26 for adults and $16 for children ages 3-12. Glow is expected to have approximately 300 employees during its season.

Glow also will feature live music, photo opportunities with Santa and over 25 vendors on hand.

Every sculpture will be wrapped in LED lights, with the smallest exhibit standing at 8 feet tall. Stacey expects Glow’s Christmas tree to top out at 100 feet tall. For perspective, the top of the Sounds' scoreboard is 82 feet off the ground.

For those who want to avoid the cold, Glow will provide VIP tickets in the club level of First Tennessee Park, where they’ll serve a rotating menu of chef-curated meals and cocktails.

Glow partnered with Strategic Hospitality  to theme their Band Box concept at First Tennessee Park as Blitzen’s Band Box during Glow, where adults 21 and up can order holiday cocktails, try their hand at curling and enter igloos.

Here is the website:

https://glowholiday.com/

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/09/25/let-it-glow-first-tennessee-park-to-host-new.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

[bigeasy]

That is cool!!! I can't see myself spending that kind of money though. Talk about an expensive outing for a family, but I guess people spend that kind of money at the ICE stuff at Opryland.

[markhollin]

The Sounds, which wrapped up their latest season last month, are among the 10 most popular minor league teams, according to total attendance figures. To see exactly where the Sounds rank, check out the slideshow with this story.

The Sounds had total attendance of 578,291 at First Tennessee Park this season, for an average of 8,631 fans per game. 

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/10/10/take-me-out-to-the-ball-game-sounds-among-most.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

[markhollin]

 

[markhollin]

Video rendering and details of the Frozen Fortress portion of the GLOW Christmas show at the ballpark: