Nashville Bits and Pieces

[BnaBreaker]

15 minutes ago, titanhog said:

^^So...it's become a major tourist draw and gets bigger every year...so let's move it from the hotspot and "fix what's not broken."

I totally understand the security concerns involved here, but I'm with you in that I think this is going to be a debacle all around.  Most people are going to be bored, cold, muddy, and sober after the ceremony is done and probably wont feel like hiking it to Broadway for a night out afterward.

Edited December 28, 2016 by BnaBreaker

[markhollin]

It WAS broken---absolute human gridlock the last two years.  Major safety concerns.  Clubs and bars along Broadway were upset because people were trapped inside for hours. Something had to be done.  

[SoundScan]

They could have certainly corrected some of the logistics along the Broadway corridor rather than just changing the location entirely. They took the easy way out, and I'm still of the opinion that this will be a major miss for the Nashville tourism industry. Any medium-sized city in the country can have a NYE event in a big field.

[CenterHill]

Where will the fireworks launch from?     Bicentennial Mall, Capitol Hill, Sounds stadium, somewhere else?   

[Titans10]

The bars on Broadway will be fine, nobody will go to Bicentennial mall anyways, this will be a one year "failure," people will still flood Broadway regardless of if we are dropping a guitar a few blocks away. 

[rookzie]

12 minutes ago, CenterHill said:

Where will the fireworks launch from?     Bicentennial Mall, Capitol Hill, Sounds stadium, somewhere else?   

Probably from one of MTA's city-buses on its last leg, and with its roof cut out.  Maybe they'll just put up a JumboTron to show it from behind Nissan stadium, and let everyone download an app for that.

Low attendance?  They'll hope it rains and scape it on the weather.

Edited December 29, 2016 by rookzie

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

It WAS broken---absolute human gridlock the last two years.  Major safety concerns.  Clubs and bars along Broadway were upset because people were trapped inside for hours. Something had to be done.  

The issue is that Times Square can figure out a way to do it and so can we.  You don't just move it.  You figure out a way to still have it on Lower Broadway...whether that's figuring out a way limit the numbers with roadblocks...spread out the activities and add activities on the outskirts of LoBro to entice people to spread out.  You don't just take it away.

You put up large video screen outside of Bridgestone Arena with food trucks...you have some type of event inside the MCC with food and drinks and video screens...even something across the river to pull people over there as well.  BUT...you keep it focused around LoBro.

Edited December 29, 2016 by titanhog

[grilled_cheese]

Just got back from Broadway and there are barriers setup already blocking off Lower Broad from 5th down to 1st.  Lots of tents and beer kiosks.

[MidTenn1]

^^^Are they for the bowl game or for New Years Eve? ^^^

[titanhog]

10 minutes ago, PHofKS said:

^^^Are they for the bowl game or for New Years Eve? ^^^

Bowl game today, per News 2.  Battle of the Bands and all of the UT / Nebraska fans.

[markhollin]

Biggest commercial real estate deals in Nashville area during 2016:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2016/12/30/nashvilles-top-commercial-real-estate-deals-2016/95974724/

[BnaBreaker]

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of my UP Nashville family!!!

[titanhog]

Anyone have any reports from downtown and the NYE celebrations?  Saw a report earlier that looked like a decent crowd at Bicentennial Park...but then saw a live look on the news of LoBro and it looked kinda dead.  Hoping for the best.

[titanhog]

Just wanted to make the first post of 2017.  Happy New Year! 

[LA_TN]

Went to Bicentennial Mall for the Note Drop and fireworks and was extremely disappointed. Small crowd, not much of an atmosphere, and the quality of fireworks were a fraction of those of previous years. There were people there for Styx and people there for Keith Urban, and the rest left at 12:02 - when Auld Lang Syne was completed

Pros: I parked 5 blocks away, anticipating a "crowd", I should have parked 2 blocks away because parking was easy. Very little traffic. No lines at port-a-potties. Online streaming. Great app. Security was good. Not crowded
Cons: Food trucks raping the wallets of innocent victims (expected) and some left early due to lack of business. Note drop seemed "shorter", not sure. Fireworks noticeably smaller, no "atmosphere". Everyone standing on the few sidewalks to avoid the mud

Overall Summary: pathetic. Not something to be proud of. I don't get it. They had ~2 million people in Times Square this year, yet our police hasn't figured out how to handle 150k on Lower Broadway

Edited January 1, 2017 by LA_TN

[titanhog]

45 minutes ago, LA_TN said:

Went to Bicentennial Mall for the Note Drop and fireworks and was extremely disappointed. Small crowd, not much of an atmosphere, and the quality of fireworks were a fraction of those of previous years. There were people there for Styx and people there for Keith Urban, and the rest left at 12:02 - when Auld Lang Syne was completed

Pros: I parked 5 blocks away, anticipating a "crowd", I should have parked 2 blocks away because parking was easy. Very little traffic. No lines at port-a-potties. Online streaming. Great app. Security was good. Not crowded
Cons: Food trucks raping the wallets of innocent victims (expected) and some left early due to lack of business. Note drop seemed "shorter", not sure. Fireworks noticeably smaller, no "atmosphere". Everyone standing on the few sidewalks to avoid the mud

Overall Summary: pathetic. Not something to be proud of. I don't get it. They had ~2 million people in Times Square this year, yet our police hasn't figured out how to handle 150k on Lower Broadway

And...from what I could tell when watching the 10pm news, Broadway looked like it had less people than a normal Saturday night with very little traffic.  It's as if the city said, "Ya know...we don't want to do this NYE celebration thing anymore, so let's find a way to kill it."

Also, I didn't see a single person talking about the Nashville NYE celebration or showing photos of it...and I had ALWAYS seen tons of stories / photos in the past.  It was as if there was nothing going on in Nashville this year.

Edited January 1, 2017 by titanhog

[markhollin]

Photos from today's Tennessean of the NYE Celebration at Bicentennial Mall last night:

 

[Guest]

Downtown was a ghost-town compared to a hopping weekend much less New Years celebrations. There was no energy about the celebration and people that foundout about the move yesterday decided to not go ... right or wrong, they still think the Mall location is crime ridden.

Hopefully the power that be rethink the move to the Bicentennial Mall...the change was a  fail IMO!

[grilled_cheese]

We arrived downtown about 9:15 to make our way to 501 Broadway for the Widespread Panic show and there was car traffic on Broadway with police officers manually managing pedestrian traffic.  We stood at the corner of of 4th and Broadway for several minutes while the police officers looked at each other not knowing when to let us pas.  It was ridiculous.  Why in the world was there car traffic allowed on Broadway on NYE when the night previous they had everything shut down for the bowl celebrations?  Whoever was in charge of that and moving the guitar drop needs to be fired and banished from Nashville proper.  Shame on you.

[rookzie]

I'm now waiting to get pelted with eggs and "maters" after saying this.  I had to fight myself constantly against hoping that the relocated celebration venue would be a proven disappointment, if not concluded failure by both consensus and attendance, despite the weather.  I also had challenged the hope that others might share some of the same sentiment, while they say that it's unethical to wish that something won't work.

Well, I lost that battle.

[titanhog]

I would imagine the true deciding factor will be whether or not the lower Broadway businesses feel this NYE was better than last.  If last year was a nightmare with the crowds so tightly packed into their businesses that no one could leave...was the alternative this year better than last?  If they want the celebration to return, their words will speak the loudest.

[Nashtitans]

Was watching it on TV...I agree with grilled_cheese, I saw on tv how cars were rolling through broadway, why not just shut it down to cars? Makes no sense.

 

Also for next year they need to move it back to broadwy.

[MLBrumby]

I wonder if that stretch of 5th Ave. South between Demonbreun or even Broadway over to Korea Veterans Blvd. was even considered for pedestrian-only access to a fireworks display. In return for moving it those two additional blocks south, perhaps, they could launch them farther south. 

[TNinVB]

If the city can make the 4th of July celebration work, then there shouldn't be a problem with New Years Eve. Makes no sense to me. Hopefully after this years disappointment, it will be moved back. 

Edited January 1, 2017 by TNinVB

[grilled_cheese]

They should have multiple areas downtown for NYE celebrations.  Note drop on Broadway, concert at Ascend, concert at Public Square park.  Disperse the crowds but keep it downtown near Broadway.  And make lower Broadway and 2nd from Broadway to the park pedestrian only.