First Horizon Park - Home of the Nashville Sounds

[producer2]

Aren't a minor league baseball stadium and an amphitheater essentially the same thing? I understand the difference, but surely this structure could be multipurpose.

I saw Dave Matthews Band at AutoZone park in Memphis(Redbird Stadium) and it was an awesome venue for a show. 15k seats plus field level standing, city views, it was great!

Hell, they could even install a retractable field to save the playing surface.

Better yet, the stadium could be oriented with a large hillside beyond the outfield wall. This could serve as the main seating area for shows(with the stage facing away from home plate) and could double as a $5 picnic blanket seating area on game days.

It could work that way and I believe the Sounds management floated that idea early on. I really think the Mayor would like a situation more on the lines of Chastain Park in Atlanta where there is a full schedule of shows from April to October that include a variety of things. At Chastain there is a Symphony Series and I know that the Nashville Symphony has expressed interest in doing this here as well. In order to accomplish this you would need 70 plus dates a year and you won't get anywhere near that if you split time with baseball. I think the thought is to create even more revenue by having 70 concert dates AND 70 baseball games a year. Building a nice amphitheater in a park like setting fits into the overall riverfront project as well.

[MTSUBlueraider86]

What has the Sounds revenues been as of late? How are they doing? I have no idea is why I am asking. If they had a downtown stadium, I would go and support it. The current ball park has no restaurants or bars within walking distance. That is a big problem. It also backs up to a blighted area of town.

MTSUBR86

[jice]

That article is the first i've heard mention of the stadium being built in or near the Gulch.. across from where Greyhound is temporarily.

Also the first mention of a site south of KVB.. I guess now that they've deemed the thermal plant site to be a future amphitheater.

I wonder if there is a strong push for either of those sites? Such as the strong push for Sulphur Dell.

[nashwatcher]

South of KVB sounds like a good idea...

The development of that area seems to have been cut off by the MCC...

South of KVB could be pretty stagnant for a while, and this might help infuse some life into the area...

That article is the first i've heard mention of the stadium being built in or near the Gulch.. across from where Greyhound is temporarily.

Also the first mention of a site south of KVB.. I guess now that they've deemed the thermal plant site to be a future amphitheater.

I wonder if there is a strong push for either of those sites? Such as the strong push for Sulphur Dell.

Edited September 17, 2010 by nashwatcher

[MidTenn1]

From The City Paper...

Some info on possible locations for a new Nashville Sounds Baseball Stadium. Apparently some property owners are promoting a site on the East bank, but north of Jefferson Street.

Last week, The City Paper obtained an aerial map that features a new ballpark –– accompanied by possible future ancillary mixed-use developments, a hotel and park space –– on the stretch of land north of the bridge and Spring Street, flanked by the Cumberland River on the west and Interstate 24 on the east. One notable current tenant of the area is Soundcheck Nashville on Cowan Street. Part of the land is in the river’s floodplain.

If you want to create demand for retail and restaurant services related to the ballpark attendees, this area doesn't make a lot of sense. We should know soon what the optimal location should be. A Kansas City firm is studying several sites and will present its conclusions in November.

Sites under consideration are as follows: the 11-acre Metro-owned former thermal plant site in SoBro along the west bank of the Cumberland River, where previous Sounds ownership saw a deal fall apart; state-owned property northeast of the Tennessee State Capitol that served as the home of Sulphur Dell, Nashville’s long demolished original ballpark; the east bank of the Cumberland, which failed to boom following the construction of LP Field; an unspecified location in the burgeoning Gulch neighborhood (presumably the North Gulch area, given existing development); the Pennington Bend area near Briley Parkway; and the current Greer location, with the possibility of a stadium renovation.

I would favor Sulphur Dell. Needless to say, I would like to see a footprint that is expandible to major league proportions someday.

[whatwhat]

A link to a site plan for the East Bank/North Jefferson St. concept. Not going to lie, I don't hate it. Especially with the incorporation of the marina.

http://enclave-nashville.blogspot.com/2011/10/alternative-to-locating-ballpark-near.html

The full size image of the plan.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?pid=explorer&srcid=0B_l3GAtZila2NDgxZDJjNTAtMTUxMi00OWNhLThmZjQtNTkzNDZiOGYyMjYx&chrome=true&docid=0a15aed4d3ab1fe340e599345ec41674{sodEmoji.|}fd627ded36cba00ab593ab0bf79e9a32&a=bi&pagenumber=1&w=800

[MidTenn1]

Although the preferred site hasn't been announced that I know of, this looks like a genuine leak of inside information. As I said elsewhere, I would rather see Sulphur Dell chosen. Parking will be inadequate here apparently and I see no neighborhood services or retail that will support fans as they want to enjoy an evening out.

Sadly, this plan looks to be focused on something other than baseball. The goal, while noble, is to revitalize the area with new construction. However, inclusion of the baseball stadium seems to be a low priority throw-in to generate a little pub and raise the larger developments profile. From a purely baseball standpoint, this choice seems to be an epic fail!

[producer2]

That info was leaked by the folks who own the property. It was not part of the original parcels being looked at for this ballpark.

[Guest]

NCP has a list of 3 sites chosen by the committee. I LOVE the Charlotte and I-40/65 site which is the current temporary location for Greyhound. It is an area that needs help. It is an area with great transportation. It is an area that could jump-start the Crosslin North Gulch development. And hey, it is out my back door. ha

[MidTenn1]

From NCP;

"The three sites are: an unspecified location on the east bank of the Cumberland River; property northeast of the Tennessee State Capitol that served as home to the long-demolished Sulphur Dell ballpark; and land at 11th and Charlotte avenues where the temporary Greyhound bus station is located."

[smeagolsfree]

Here is the article.

http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/study-three-sites-highlighted-potential-sounds-stadium

[smeagolsfree]

My vote is either Sulphur Dell or the Charlotte site. The East bank site is too far removed from the core of DT and frankly nota viable location yet. They would have to buy a lot of land and it would be a very costly project. How do you relocate all the business's that are there now? Would that be through condemnation of property?

[jdavidf]

I'm for Sulphur Dell or Charlotte - walking distance for us - just might make baseball fans out of us And if anything could spur the Crosslin North Gulch development, that would be awesome! Still waiting for that rumored urban Target store!

Edited December 1, 2011 by jdavidf

[FriendlyFlier]

My vote would be for a location that is walkable from Downtown office buildings and the Convention center.

[MTSUBlueraider86]

It seems the naysayers are out in droves in the posted articles comment section. Nashvillian's do not want a penny spent on anything. Many have no idea how development works, and how many jobs were created by the Titans and the Predators. The Sounds Stadium will spur growth no matter where it is located.

I would prefer the thermal site to create more infill, but Sulphur Dell works for me too. Charlotte would be a good location, but it backs up to too many project areas. This would keep a lot of restaurants and other business out. They don't like being near the projects.

[barakat]

I favor Sulphur Dell, but will admit it's because such a large development would directly benefit my neighborhood [Hope Gardens] and bring desirable amenities to the area. However, it's too far from the convention center and most downtown hotels to be appealing to tourists. Of course, a new field in Sulphur Dell could spawn new hotels between the immediate area and downtown, which would partially solve that problem. Overall, I believe East Bank makes the most sense. It's close enough to MCC and several hotels. It's a short walk from Second Avenue, and would have a synergistic effect with existing and future riverfront development. I see why Dean is intrigued by the East bank site, but also see the advantages to the other sites. The Charlotte Ave site would require lots of adjacent, concurrent development to be viable, in my opinion.

[jdavidf]

It seems the naysayers are out in droves in the posted articles comment section. Nashvillian's do not want a penny spent on anything. Many have no idea how development works, and how many jobs were created by the Titans and the Predators. The Sounds Stadium will spur growth no matter where it is located.

I would prefer the thermal site to create more infill, but Sulphur Dell works for me too. Charlotte would be a good location, but it backs up to too many project areas. This would keep a lot of restaurants and other business out. They don't like being near the projects.

You're so right about the naysayers.. very short-sighted.. I'm no development/government expert, but I suspect there's more to the "wasteful studies" than meets the eye. Those commentors might consider understanding what's actually going on before trashing what they don't get..

As for the location, if I'm honest, the Thermal site makes a lot of sense.. and the Sulphur Dell (Dale?) site should probably be the sentimental favorite.. with the Charlotte site last.. for the very reasons you mention..

[smeagolsfree]

Here is the latest from the NBJ. Also attached is the Summery and the study. large PDF files

NBJ story

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2011/12/01/ballpark-feasibility-study-gives.html?page=all

Summery

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/pdf/111201_executive%20summary_ballpark%20study.pdf

Full Study

http://www.nashville.gov/mayor/docs/ballpark/SiteEvaluationStudy.pdf

[smeagolsfree]

Looks as if the cost would be in the area of 52 million and could be ready by the 2014 season according to the study. I would expect that Metro would do the same deal they had when the stadium was proposed for the thermal site but who knows. But that leaves the big question, How do you pay for it? Seems to me that the original cost at the thermal site was going to be in the neighborhood of 19 million. Don’t hold me to that figure but its what I seem to remember and Streuver Brothers was going to develop the rest.

I think the land cost on the Sulphur Dell would be less than any other location.

The east bank can be an option depending where it goes and which option they use according to the full study. That one has the mayor’s attention and could bring in some major developers to the east bank. The draw back if they use the PSC metals site is that it would take a lot of money to clean the site as it is considered a brown field wiht all of the chemicals in the ground.

The Charlotte site could work depending on co-operation of Crosland and Southeast Ventures who own the majority of the property it would go on. They would have to develop the site at the same time as the stadium. However I think Crosland has much more planned for the site than a ball park.

[jdavidf]

However I think Crosland has much more planned for the site than a ball park.

Do tell

[smeagolsfree]

I was shocked when I saw the accessed value of the land involved in each site. I figured the Sulphur Dell site would be the least costly and the East bank would be the most costly. The numbers are just the opposite and looks as if the East Bank may win out just on cost factors alone. Here is a blog from the NBJ

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2011/12/ballpark-site-breakdown.html?page=all

East Bank, near Korean Veterans Boulevard

• Size = 80 acres
  
• Land assessed value + site costs: $8.6 million
  
  
  $107,550 per acre
  Sulphur Dell
  
  • Size = 24.75 acres
    
  • Land assessed value + site costs: $14 million
    

  $565,656 per acre

  North Gulch, north of Charlotte Avenue

  [*]Size = 30 acres

  [*]Land assessed value + site costs: $13 million

  $433,333 per acre

[MTSUBlueraider86]

I think we have our answer where it's going!

[fieldmarshaldj]

I think we have our answer where it's going!

Antioch ?

[smeagolsfree]

Here is an article from the Tennessean today .

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111212/NEWS01/312120032/Nashville-Sounds-sold-East-Bank-stadium-site?odyssey=tab{sodEmoji.|}topnews{sodEmoji.|}text{sodEmoji.|}FRONTPAGE

Pretty much in a nut shell, it says that the Sounds favor the East bank site at the foot of the Shelby Street bridge over the foot of the KVB Bridge, and the city has been in talks with PSC for over a year to try and relocate the facility. The cost of moving and cleaning the site up would be very high.

[MTSUBlueraider86]

Interesting to see if anything will be done before the new baseball season in March.