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smeagolsfree

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Sorry if I'm missing something, but I have yet to see any report about it becoming the official practice facility for the Preds.

I just don't see that happening for 3 reasons;

1. The plans to add another sheet of ice at Centennial.

2. The proximity to Brentwood and Franklin, where most of the players and coaches live.

3. Infrastructure. The Preds often need many hotel rooms for training camps and such. They have that at centennial. Not the case in H.H.

Ill believe it when I see it.

Could someone link to an article where it talks about this 3rd rink at Centennial? They did a story on the news about the Centennial expansion and didn't mention any new ice.

 

As far as the preds practice facility I could see it being desirable for a few reasons

 

1. Centennial and A-game serve a lot of the general public for open-skate, youth leagues and camps, tournaments and adult leagues. Having preds practice at either location just puts more pressure on those events. At this new location the general public schedule can be built around the preds as opposed to the opposite at the other locations. 

 

2. Centennial and A-game were not designed as NHL practice facilities. I bet they lack adequate locker rooms, equipment rooms, training rooms, meeting rooms etc. that most NHL teams likely have at their facilities. I have not looked over the plans for Antioch but I assume these features are built in. 

 

3. This facility will be managed by the team. I don't know everything that entails but I imagine it is beneficial for the teams purposes.

 

4. Probably not as important but having this as the preds flagship location will bring some instant credibility to the surrounding development and the hockey programs to help it get off to a strong start. It is a good way to immediately engage the community. 

 

5. This is a great way for the Preds to reach out into a community with a lot of people who probably don't have much attachment to the team. Most of the current fans are likely in Downtown and Brentwood/Franklin. This could be a way to tap into an underutilized market for fans. 

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This should clear up some of the questions about the Predators' involvement in this:

 

The Nashville Predators will pay $350,000 annually to lease the space from the city, which will grow to $450,000 over time. The Predators will also manage the facility, but Centennial will remain its primary practice facility.

 

Predators CEOicon1.png Jeff Cogen said some of the players would skate at the new facility “several times a month.” Frank Wright, ice rink manager at Centennial, said it was early to say, but that programming would likely have few changes, despite the new facility in Antioch.

 

The Predators have priority scheduling for the B side of Centennial’s facility. Public programming has priority on the A side. Wright hopes the new facility will give the Jr. Predators — the official travel hockey program affiliated with the Predators — some space to “fit into after school windows without having it go so late.” Now, the team practices as early as 4:30 p.m. and as late as 10 p.m.

 

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130618/BUSINESS01/306180022

 

I like the rendering.

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Some interesting speculation about a corporate HQ relocation that would be HUGE if it happens in the Nashville metro area.

 

From the Tennessean...

 

 

Would Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne seriously consider moving the combined company’s headquarters to Tennessee once the merger of the two automakers is completed? Speculation that Marchionne would pull Fiat out of Italy or the firmly entrenched Chrysler out of its longtime Auburn Hills, Mich., home has been swirling in the auto industry and economic development circles since Marchionne made a comment on Sunday during an event in Pulaski, Tenn., about where people might like to see the combined company make its permanent headquarters .

 

Just for fun, I think we can start the '505CST' speculation, also.

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That's...interesting. I have my doubts that they are seriously looking to move...but I wouldn't doubt that they are exploring/fishing for incentive packages from other states. 

 

 

As for the possibility of them moving into 505CST...if they take the GM route and locate their HQ in a very prominent downtown structure, maybe.

 

This is their current HQ:

538px-Chrysler_Headquarters_Auburn_Hills

 

Now, the Fiat factor definitely makes this a little more up in the air...but my money would be on the status quo being maintained...and if they moved here, we could enjoy another major HQ in Cool Springs.

 

It sort of depends on how visible Fiat would want to be.

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Chrysler Fiat - doubt it. If it did happen I'd imagine that article would have Emery going hardcore to lease out one of the Franklin Park buildings.

 

Also, more foodie reviews from New York.

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/travel/nashville_cookin_34iSGoI9oW72OH42PBEiuL/1

 

"3415 W. End Ave"

 

Oh, New Yorkers....bless their hearts.

 

The article isn't too bad, outside of a few of the usual side comments. Thankfully, it's mostly about the food. I'm glad they highlighted a few of the lesser known spots.

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I think there's a decent chance they'll move their headquarters (although they are more likely to stay), and Tennessee would definitely be one of a handful of states in contention for the relocation. You'll hear a lot of Detroiters say that having an auto HQ in Michigan is a benefit, but I've got to think it s a net negative. Michigan is the poster child for brain drain, and recruiting talent would be tougher in Detroit than in Nashville which has the "cool city" vibe now.

As far as where they would locate if they did come to Nashville......I wouldn't take downtown or midtown out of the running. Using their current suburban location as a reason for them to locate in a place like cool springs is flawed IMO because downtown/midtown nashville >>>> than anything the city of Detroit offers. Downtown Detroit is one of the most depressing places in metro Detroit. Midtown, Sobro, and Downtown Nashville are the most vibrant places in nashville. Their NBA team is located in Auburn Hills, not downtown.

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I think there's a decent chance they'll move their headquarters (although they are more likely to stay), and Tennessee would definitely be one of a handful of states in contention for the relocation. You'll hear a lot of Detroiters say that having an auto HQ in Michigan is a benefit, but I've got to think it s a net negative. Michigan is the poster child for brain drain, and recruiting talent would be tougher in Detroit than in Nashville which has the "cool city" vibe now.

As far as where they would locate if they did come to Nashville......I wouldn't take downtown or midtown out of the running. Using their current suburban location as a reason for them to locate in a place like cool springs is flawed IMO because downtown/midtown nashville >>>> than anything the city of Detroit offers. Downtown Detroit is one of the most depressing places in metro Detroit. Midtown, Sobro, and Downtown Nashville are the most vibrant places in nashville. Their NBA team is located in Auburn Hills, not downtown.

 

And how is this relevant? The Wings, Tigers, and Lions all play downtown.  That statement actually makes your statement look the exact opposite of what you meant.

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Yeah, I would say that Downtown and Midtown Detroit feel safer and more active than many of the inner Detroit neighborhoods that are blighted. I have personally walked around downtown Detroit and Corktown at night without feeling unsafe and, despite the surrounding blight, there is a decent amount activity . Last I heard, Detroit was actually even offering incentives to young professionals in the creative class to move back into the city.  

 

That said, I could certainly see how a downtown Nashville location might be much more appealing than a downtown Detroit location. We'll have to see what comes of this, but it's fun to dream. 

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Plus the 625 million dollar project to create a new 18,000 capacity hockey arena/complex near the new core is being planned.  

I was down in the core last Christmas to watch a Lion's game against Atlanta.  The area was busy in all the local bars and eateries.  Baseball and an additional 40+ home games for hockey will really help things for that area of Detroit.  

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out of curiosity, how often do you go to detroit?

 

eric b

I used to a good bit. I lived in Toledo for a while and would make the short drive up a decent amount, but we wouldn't go to downtown Detroit unless it was for a sporting event. We'd either head to Windsor, go to Ann Arbor, or the suburbs. The attitude of people from metro Detroit towards the city of Detroit is very, very negative. It is all focused on the suburbs there, and because of that they have some very nice suburbs...in fact many are fairly urban. Look at the real estate values in the neighborhoods within walking/biking distance of downtown Detroit versus neighborhoods within walking/biking distance of downtown Nashville. Which one is more desirable?

As for the point about the Pistons playing at The Palace...can you imagine a major league team setting up their home field/arena in Franklin? That's because, while Nashville's suburbs are plentiful, they aren't the heart of the metro area. I would argue that in many ways the power base and heart of Detroit doesn't lie in the city limits. That gets back to my original point that if they were to relocate to Nashville (again, not likely in the end) citing their Auburn Hills HQ as evidence that they would locate in the Nashville suburbs is flawed IMO.

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At the same time, there are many cities that, for whatever reason, located major sports franchises far outside the core of the metro (pats in boston, hurricanes in raleigh, royals in kansas city just to name a few) so that isnt necessarily evidence for your argument, particularly when the other three franchises are right downtown. You can also point to things like the rehab of many of downtowns abandoned skyscrapers, the relocation of large company HQs like Quicken Loans to downtown, the multiple casino projects like mgm grand downtown, and the return of upscale retailers and hotels like whole foods and westin, as signs that detroit is starting to awake from its slumber.

Anyway, let me make it clear that im not even disagreeing with you that Nashville is probably higher on the desirability index than detroit right now. It goes without saying, I hope, that I would root for a corporate relocation to choose Nashville over Detroit or any other city.

However, that being said, I am from the midwest and really root for Detroit to succeed. I just think it is obvious how heavy the perception of the public actually plays in the reputation of a city, and in the chances of a ressurgence in a city, and I dont think it does Detroit, or the country for that matter, any favors at all to advance the idea that it is a dead or dying city.

Edited by BnaBreaker
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As for the point about the Pistons playing at The Palace...can you imagine a major league team setting up their home field/arena in Franklin? That's because, while Nashville's suburbs are plentiful, they aren't the heart of the metro area. I would argue that in many ways the power base and heart of Detroit doesn't lie in the city limits. That gets back to my original point that if they were to relocate to Nashville (again, not likely in the end) citing their Auburn Hills HQ as evidence that they would locate in the Nashville suburbs is flawed IMO.

 

I don't think there is a correlation to where corporate HQs locate and when professional teams locate. Largely, the experiment of putting sports teams in the suburbs has been a failure (outside of football). Most of the time, it happens in much larger cities. Detroit and Nashville aren't comparable in terms of urban/suburban environment. Despite Detroit losing so much population where its city proper is actually close to Nashville's population now (700k vs 625k), Detroit's metro is more than 3x larger than ours. Comparisons in that regard are ludicrous. 

 

Actually, the same would go for Franklin having a sports team vs. Glendale (Phoenix metro) having sports teams. Franklin, as close as we think it is, is a good 17-18 miles from the city center. Glendale, AZ is 11...and Glendale is much larger than Franklin, and Phoenix's MSA is much larger than our own.

 

Sports teams generally locate in city centers because (generally) city centers are the hub of both the metro in terms of physical geographic location and in entertainment activity. There are exceptions to this, but it is largely the rule. The biggest exceptions are NFL stadiums, which are large, and depending on the city, sometimes there is not ample land in the city center. Most evidence shows NBA/NHL arenas tend to do better in the city center. Almost all MLB stadiums are close to downtown.

 

 

Corporations are a different story, though. I think locating in a suburb well outside the city center really depends on what the company is considering. Skyscrapers, as much as us urbanites/architecture enthusiasts love them, have their drawbacks from a corporate perspective. They are quite expensive to build, for one...and depending on the company, the floor plate might not be optimal for corporate operations. On top of that, parking is an issue. Newer towers that incorporate parking are fine...but with larger companies, the sheer number of employees means that finding parking in a narrow garage with only one or two entrances is time consuming. A lot of corporations have taken the more spread out, campus approach...and my feeling is that a lot of the regular employees prefer that. While certain professions still prefer the skyscraper model (it offers distinction and enhanced visibility in general), I think most corporations would prefer something more nondescript. 

 

I don't consider skyscrapers structures built in vain, but I think there is a factor of vanity that comes with corporations that build or want to locate in them. Of the 'named' skyscrapers in Nashville, how many of them don a bank's signage?  About half? Most of the rest are either hotels, residences, or state offices. Think about this....Nashville has a huge presence of healthcare companies. How many have skyscrapers? We're about to get our first (pair) with West End Summit. We also have a decent insurance base....where are they? Office parks. Auto industry? Nissan is in the burbs.

 

Again...I doubt Fiat/Chrysler will actually move here...but if they do, I honestly don't think they will scout a downtown site.

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I never said they would locate downtown. I was simply saying I wouldn't use their decision to locate in the Detroit suburbs as evidence that they'll locate in the Nashville suburbs in the less-than-likely event they locate here.

As for where companies locate in Nadhville, I agree with you that part of decision is definitely sector based with financial institutions wanting a CBD location. I would also put forth that many of the corporate headquarters are in suburban locations because of the time they "grew up."

The relative desirability of urban Nashville (inside 440) versus suburban Nashville has shifted in the last 10 years, and it continues to evolve toward in-town desirability IMO. A company that relocated in 2005 would see a different equation in 2013. White collar and no collar labor is increasingly choosing to live in Nashville. No longer does making 6 figures mean you head for the 'burbs. The argument that cool springs is closer to their employees doesn't hold nearly as much weight as it used to.

Maybe my preference toward urban living is clouding my view, but I think an office on West End, in the Gulch, Sobro, Midtown, or CBD makes more sense than locating in Cool Springs. 15 years ago I don't know if I would have made that same statement. With BRT seemingly going to happen I think the case for Nashville will be even stronger over time.

Edited by Hey_Hey
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Another reason many companies like suburban buildings is due to floor plate size. Many office towers are tall, but slender. This limits the square footage per floor. Suburban buildings can have a very large floor plate.

The advantage to the large floor plate is that a company can house an entire department/division within the same workspace, which can have major productivity advantages. Even with email and instant messaging, some communication can be lost if people within the same team are spread among multiple levels.

A good case study is why Sears left the Sears (Willis) Tower. People in the same department often complained about not seeing teammates for weeks/months at a time, even though they were only 1 floor away.

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