Music City Center, 1.2 million sq. ft., $623 million

[donNdonelson2]

38 minutes ago, nashvylle said:

 

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-kay-bailey-hutchison-convention-center-expansion-november-ballot/287-d92f4de8-da0c-4449-ab88-e828dc1d5ec9

The tax would increase from 13% to 15% and is paid by individuals renting hotel rooms in Dallas. 

15%? what is Nashville's hotel/motel tax? 

From Frommers.com

[markhollin]

MCC  raked in about $150 million in tourism taxes during the fiscal year ending June 30. The money will replenish losses from the halt in business during the pandemic.

"We're doing extremely well," Music City Center CEO Charles Starks said. "Demand is up, so hotel taxes continue to grow. But corporate travel is still not back."

Music City Center collects a range of tourism taxes to fund operations. For example, the $2 hotel-room tax grew from $635,470 last fiscal year to $1.6 million by June 2022, reflecting the surge in demand.

When looking at the breakdown in revenue, the center raked in about $55 million in the surrounding downtown core's Tourism-Development Zone on top of $95 million in hotel room and related taxes in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Those funds will be put in reserve for maintenance and, eventually, Music City Center's expansion.

More behind The Tennessean paywall here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2022/10/07/downtown-nashville-hotel-tourism-tax-surge-competition-dallas-atlanta/69544850007/

[markhollin]

From behind the The Tennessean paywall today:

A power struggle: How defunding Music City Center by the State could reverberate across Nashville.

Music City Center is Metro Nashville’s priciest property deal ever, though that $623 million cost will be eclipsed if a new $2.1 billion NFL stadium is approved. And the fact that its construction and operations have been fully-funded by tourism-related taxes has been a feather in the cap of CEO Charles Starks and the Convention Center Authority’s board of directors for a decade.

Not only has the convention center been self-supporting — thanks largely to diverted taxes on downtown hotels and rental vehicles — but it has repeatedly given back to the community with big paychecks to fund Metro services countywide, especially during COVID-19 pandemic hardships.

But that success could soon be upturned amid a power struggle between state and Metro leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson has proposed Senate Bill 648, threatening to strip power from Nashville leaders to oversee downtown's convention-tourism revenue. The bill from Johnson could portend major disruption to a facility that generated more than $380 million in direct economic impact in 2022.

Starks said he is "actively engaged in reviewing and evaluating the bill and what it would mean for Music City Center."

Here's more about the bill and the Music City Center.

Money and Music City Center

Music City Center took in $150 million in the last fiscal year, replenishing funds depleted by pandemic-related business and travel restrictions. The facility will need hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance costs over the next decade, and expansion is critical to ensuring future growth.

Much of the center's revenue is tied to its construction bond, and it will expire when that is repaid within 30 years of the loan.

"A major expansion is something we have to continue to talk about," Starks said. "Music City Center is a big convention center, but it's not a mega-convention center. Atlanta's is six times bigger than us. They've got availability we don't have."

The convention center's success is widely considered crucial to improving downtown, which is grappling with criticism about noise, traffic and public drunkenness.

The Convention Center Authority is considering $39.3 million in donation requests from Metro to pay for downtown improvements.

The proposed state law comes just as the 113th Tennessee General Assembly reconvenes to debate abortion, infrastructure, criminal law and other issues on tap in this session.

Metro Council's decision to block the Republican National Convention from meeting in Nashville in 2024 is widely seen as the impetus for the legislation and others targeting Nashville. Another proposal would shrink the 40-member Metro Council to no more than 20 members.

But tensions between the city and state have been on the rise even before the RNC vote.

The legislation's main points

∎ The bill’s sparse language makes clear that Republican lawmakers are serious about threats to reign in Metro Council's lack of "interest in properly promoting convention tourism," Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said in a statement about the bill.

"Nashville has been afforded certain tools for the express purpose of encouraging convention tourism to the city. Over the last year, Metro has made it clear they are no longer interested in aggressively recruiting top-tier conventions to Nashville. That message has been received loud and clear by the General Assembly," McNally said. "If Nashville wants to prioritize political posturing over prosperity for its people, that's their prerogative. But the state does not have to participate."

∎ The Convention Center Authority was created in 2009 to build and manage Music City Center in partnership with state leaders. The board is appointed by Mayor John Cooper, but that power could also be usurped by the state legislature.

∎ Senate Bill 648 comes directly on the heels of a piece of legislation introduced to cut in half the 40-member Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County. Both bills seek to exert state authority over the city.

∎ This bill would cancel Metro’s authority to collect four major revenue streams going to Music City Center via state "privilege taxes," and require Metro to distribute two-thirds of collected convention-center revenue to tourism-related promotion and activities. The remaining third “must be deposited in the general fund of the metropolitan government,” the bill states.

[FrankNash]

Whatever happened to big government is a bad thing?  Hypocritical  behavior runs rampant in Tennessee.  I'm sorry for going there but, this is just sad.  If the Nashville citizens don't want something like this then to bad.  Have it in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, or whaterver cracker town they choose.

[Argo]

There we go.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Argo

[Mr Gain]

1 hour ago, FrankNash said:

whaterver cracker town they choose.

You mean Memphis?

[Mr Gain]

11 hours ago, markhollin said:

From behind the The Tennessean paywall today:

A power struggle: How defunding Music City Center by the State could reverberate across Nashville.

Music City Center is Metro Nashville’s priciest property deal ever, though that $623 million cost will be eclipsed if a new $2.1 billion NFL stadium is approved. And the fact that its construction and operations have been fully-funded by tourism-related taxes has been a feather in the cap of CEO Charles Starks and the Convention Center Authority’s board of directors for a decade.

Not only has the convention center been self-supporting — thanks largely to diverted taxes on downtown hotels and rental vehicles — but it has repeatedly given back to the community with big paychecks to fund Metro services countywide, especially during COVID-19 pandemic hardships.

But that success could soon be upturned amid a power struggle between state and Metro leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson has proposed Senate Bill 648, threatening to strip power from Nashville leaders to oversee downtown's convention-tourism revenue. The bill from Johnson could portend major disruption to a facility that generated more than $380 million in direct economic impact in 2022.

Starks said he is "actively engaged in reviewing and evaluating the bill and what it would mean for Music City Center."

Here's more about the bill and the Music City Center.

Money and Music City Center

Music City Center took in $150 million in the last fiscal year, replenishing funds depleted by pandemic-related business and travel restrictions. The facility will need hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance costs over the next decade, and expansion is critical to ensuring future growth.

Much of the center's revenue is tied to its construction bond, and it will expire when that is repaid within 30 years of the loan.

"A major expansion is something we have to continue to talk about," Starks said. "Music City Center is a big convention center, but it's not a mega-convention center. Atlanta's is six times bigger than us. They've got availability we don't have."

The convention center's success is widely considered crucial to improving downtown, which is grappling with criticism about noise, traffic and public drunkenness.

The Convention Center Authority is considering $39.3 million in donation requests from Metro to pay for downtown improvements.

The proposed state law comes just as the 113th Tennessee General Assembly reconvenes to debate abortion, infrastructure, criminal law and other issues on tap in this session.

Metro Council's decision to block the Republican National Convention from meeting in Nashville in 2024 is widely seen as the impetus for the legislation and others targeting Nashville. Another proposal would shrink the 40-member Metro Council to no more than 20 members.

But tensions between the city and state have been on the rise even before the RNC vote.

The legislation's main points

∎ The bill’s sparse language makes clear that Republican lawmakers are serious about threats to reign in Metro Council's lack of "interest in properly promoting convention tourism," Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said in a statement about the bill.

"Nashville has been afforded certain tools for the express purpose of encouraging convention tourism to the city. Over the last year, Metro has made it clear they are no longer interested in aggressively recruiting top-tier conventions to Nashville. That message has been received loud and clear by the General Assembly," McNally said. "If Nashville wants to prioritize political posturing over prosperity for its people, that's their prerogative. But the state does not have to participate."

∎ The Convention Center Authority was created in 2009 to build and manage Music City Center in partnership with state leaders. The board is appointed by Mayor John Cooper, but that power could also be usurped by the state legislature.

∎ Senate Bill 648 comes directly on the heels of a piece of legislation introduced to cut in half the 40-member Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County. Both bills seek to exert state authority over the city.

∎ This bill would cancel Metro’s authority to collect four major revenue streams going to Music City Center via state "privilege taxes," and require Metro to distribute two-thirds of collected convention-center revenue to tourism-related promotion and activities. The remaining third “must be deposited in the general fund of the metropolitan government,” the bill states.

State of Tennessee to the rug rats of Nashville city council: 'Lets go to the woodshed.'

[UTgrad09]

37 minutes ago, Mr Gain said:

State of Tennessee to the rug rats of Nashville city council: 'Lets go to the woodshed.'

Does baby need more attention tonight?

[BnaBreaker]

1 hour ago, Mr Gain said:

State of Tennessee to the rug rats of Nashville city council: 'Lets go to the woodshed.'

This is the behavior of someone who is incapable of carrying on an actual conversation on the subject.  Why do I get the distinct impression that Mr. Gain is one of those former members that is in a continuous cycle of getting banned and rejoining under a different name?  

[markhollin]

A bill that would revoke funding for Nashville's Music City Center convention hall is unconstitutional, Tennessee's comptroller has advised top Republican lawmakers.

The legislation that would defund the convention center is one of a collection of bills circulating in the General Assembly that arise from Metro Council's vote in August to reject the city's bid to host the next Republican National Convention. The convention center bill has alarmed city and business officials for its potential to strike not just at a key slice of the city's economy, but also creating the prospect that Metro would have to use its own money to pay off bond debt that totals about $14.5 million a year, in payments set to last the next 20 years.

To finance the facility, which turns 10 years old in May, the state created a "tourism development zone" that routes some sales taxes generated downtown and a lot of Midtown to the city's Convention Center Authority. Five other surcharges also supply tax revenue to the convention center.

Those taxes have fully funded the convention center, and then some. As written, the bill would cut off all that tax money, which back the bonds used to finance Music City Center's construction.

"We set up the [tourism development] zone to pay off the bonds. Nashville's only paying what the current payment is, nothing more. They're taking all the extra money and using it for the general fund and pet projects. That's not what it was designed for," Sexton said. "Why would you want to carry the debt when you can pay it off faster? Getting more financially stable would be beneficial. And I think that will be constitutional, defendable by us."

Convention center officials say the reserves are needed for maintenance and renovations, or even a potential expansion, as well as cushioning against future economic downturns.

The bill is in committees in the House and Senate.

"I will say, it got some attention," Sexton said with a smile. "It's like your pot of honey, and you're about ready to lose that pot, right?"

Sexton said he'd be open to a separate conversation about other potential uses for excess revenue from the tourism development zone, such as funding police overtime downtown.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/02/08/tn-gop-defund-convention-center-legislation-bill.html

[markhollin]

Courtesy of Kalucci:

[markhollin]

Courtesy of Kalucci:

[markhollin]

Courtesy of Aerial Innovations SE:

[Bark At The Sun]

This would have been an awesome conference to attend.......ends today

[markhollin]

Music City Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this week since opening on May 20, 2013. 

[andywildman]

6 minutes ago, markhollin said:

Music City Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this week since opening on May 20, 2013. 

I work my way back through old threads when I'm caught up on recent updates, and this thread from 2006 was in my list over the weekend. Normally, convention centers don't pan out profitably for their cities, but I do believe that downtown Nashville is better off with Music City Center than it would've been otherwise.

 

[markhollin]

Cover story and editorial for this week's Ledger:

The Skeptics Had It Wrong

Music City Center has exceeded financial expectations during the first decade.  Time to expand?

http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=166532

http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=166533

[MLBrumby]

On 6/15/2023 at 2:52 PM, markhollin said:

Cover story and editorial for this week's Ledger:

The Skeptics Had It Wrong

Music City Center has exceeded financial expectations during the first decade.  Time to expand?

http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=166532

http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=166533

 

This piece states that expansion could go "up" with two levels (on the roof), which is the first I've heard of this. I find that interesting since so much was made of the "green" roof. And does anyone here know if that were done whether the roof of the expansion would look the same?  I thought the property at the SW corner of 5th (b/n 5th & 6th) and KVB was bought by MCC for expansion. Do I have that wrong? 

[gannman]

1 hour ago, MLBrumby said:

This piece states that expansion could go "up" with two levels (on the roof), which is the first I've heard of this. I find that interesting since so much was made of the "green" roof. And does anyone here know if that were done whether the roof of the expansion would look the same?  I thought the property at the SW corner of 5th (b/n 5th & 6th) and KVB was bought by MCC for expansion. Do I have that wrong? 

Vertical expansion sounds hideous and expensive.