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Sounds Stadium


doormanpoet

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Memphis didn't seem to mind shelling out $80 million on their stadium. Do people show up? Yes! I remember going to games in the early 90's where they would sell out all the time. Nashville lead AAA baseball in attendance in the 70's when the stadium was first built. People haven't been going lately because people have let Greer Stadium deteriorate into a rat infested crap hole. I would love to see the minor league experience be revitalized in Nashville...there is nothing quite like it anywhere. The location downtown will be great for the city and the business's on lower broad will LOVE having it downtown...especially during the summer.

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doorman, I don't think you're seeing the big picture with this stadium situation.

First though, the Municipal Auditorium was more than adequate for the Knights. Most people didn't even know we had a hockey team then. We had one for years, from the Flyers to the Knights. Hockey enthusiasts attended. It was not the NHL. The atmosphere was very, very different.

As for the Sounds stadium. This is a piece of an enormous puzzle that's being put together and will start mushrooming out of the ground very soon. The stadium piece will cost maybe $35 million bucks. The financing for the stadium will cost us taxpayers some, but the overall fiscal picture shares the cost among us and many banks who've signed on to the deal.

The most important component is the Streuver Bros. (these guys are from Baltimore, and know exactly what they're doing) involvment in the developments around the stadium and beyond. These guys do NOT do small projects and do not require city money to do them. They will have all the land around the stadium and an additonal 5-6 acres just across from the Thermal site to position over $100 million worth of urban residential, commercial and retail. Adjacent to that is the 36-acre Rolling Mill Hill development. I can't explain here in a few words what you'll see on that hill, but it will be absolutely jaw-dropping with city views unmatched by almost any place around. In that area, also, is a new upscale development on the property across from the rapidly growing Symphony Center, a new Hampton Suites, parcels of land that have been assembled to complete a city block on which I heard mention that hundred of residential units will be constructed. The Gateway Blvd will (sometime) be complete to 4th and eventually to 8th. This will provide a magnificent pedestrian friendly boulevard around which plans exit to develop untold number of residential, commercial and retail buildings.

So, if the Sounds stadium were taken singly, it wouldn't be a big deal. Might as well build it in Murfreesboro, but it's not, it's a piece of a huge puzzle which you'll see come together sooner than later.

The impact on downtown during ballgame nights will be electric. With all Nashville has going for it downtown, and one only has to truly experience it for oneself on an ongoing basis, I think we are in for a city we could have only once dreamed of.

Keep the faith, keep your pants on, and keep your eyes open. You're about to see something big.

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oh, i totally forgot about the knights! does anybody remember when the inflatable knight got into a fight with some coach from ohio? man those were the days! :D but anyways, back on topic. the stadium will spur even more growth in the sobro area and will help downtown businesses a lot. greer stadium is just kind of out of the way to really be successful (not to mention it's really run down). to have good success in nashville now, i beleive you're going to have to build downtown since that is where all the focus is moving to. i am so glad it's happening.

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Do you think that once the city gets a new baseball stadium that Nashville will be more of a baseball town? Every time I've been to a Sounds game it's been pretty... eh.

(This is DT, btw)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i think baseball will start to take off in the city once this stadium gets built. one of the reasons that the sounds games aren't that fun anymore is because nobody ever goes to them. it's in a not so nice part of town and the stadium is run down. i honestly don't like baseball that much, but when the new stadium gets built, i would love to go to some of the games. now if it'll take off like the titans did, doubtful, but it'll be a fun local event that i believe many in this city will enjoy.

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I think it will. I'm sure there'll be some sort of honeymoon, but hopefully it will last a few years. I remember the beginning of the Sounds; it was frightening how many people came. Then, yes, attedance waned. The stadium was out of the way and once the game was over, there you were....in a part of town decent folk would normally not find themselves unless they were hopelessly lost.

Being on the fringe of a bustling entertainment area and in the middle of the "new" SoBro will be a draw in itself.

I think one only needs to look west to Memphis to see what we're soon experience here. It's a new ballgame.

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Well, hopefully these fans will truly be addicted to the game and not go to the games just to be seen since it will be the "trendy" thing to do.

I guess growing up in Reds crazed Cincinnati had its effect on me :)

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I say go for it.

If Memphis is any example, attendance will drop. Although being in downtown Nashville I suspect attendance will stabilize at a healthy "floor" and stay good.

Memphis' attendance has dropped since the new stadium opened, although the city still vies yearly with Sacramento for the no. 1 spot in attendance. And in 2002 they outdrew the Expos and the Marlins. lol

Last year in old, rundown Tim McCarver Stadium:

1999--397,339 #15

New Park opens:

2000--902,110 #1

2001--887,976 #2

2002--794,550 #2

2003--749,000 #2

2004--713,700 #2

I suspect Nashville would post similar figures. And downtown baseball is one of the most attractive family-friendly and cheap ways to lure people downtown.

New Orleans made the mistake of building its ballpark out along Airline Highway in Metairie--the worst of both worlds, a prostitute and drug-lined street combined with suburbia, and their attendance last year was about 320,000. But New Orleans doesn't need downtown revitalization and there'd be no place to build downtown anyway.

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Oh, I agree. Downtown baseball stadiums are a wonderful tool in revitalization. Birmingham's plans are in the works, and one of our very own forumers is having a hand in the design of the stadium ( he works for one of our premier architecture and design firms, and is also my neighbor :) )

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I understand all of the economic impact studies. I have been in Nashville since 1965. I lived in Houston Texas before that. I just think we have enough sports stadiums. We have no more hockey this year and the Kats are terrible, so how is the Arena going to get revenue? The NCAA's are not going to pay the bills for a year. If anyone is going to spend $40 million on a stadium for the Sounds, we should have spent $100 million on getting the Montreal Expo's. The Titans were 5-11 last year. If people think sports teams and sports stadiums show the economic vitality of a city, they are sadly mistaken.

Who is going to buy all of these condo's going up everywhere? There are over 50 subdivisions being built out of downtown as we speak, and we have over 100 condo projects in midtown and downtown right now with more to come. Don't you think we are over building? There are according to Emporis 569,000 people in Nashville and 1.6 million in the 8 county MSA. Who is going to live in all these places? Not to mention all of the work being done in Belmont, Woodbine, East Nashville, North Nashville.

I think we are being stretched a little thin, and although this is private money for the sounds, if the have anymore bad seasons, they won't pay for themselves anyway. I am not trying to be cynical, just realistic.

I don't believe in investing in minor league sports, Sorry, I don't.

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I understand all of the economic impact studies. I have been in Nashville since 1965. I lived in Houston Texas before that. I just think we have enough sports stadiums. We have no more hockey this year and the Kats are terrible, so how is the Arena going to get revenue? The NCAA's are not going to pay the bills for a year. If anyone is going to spend $40 million on a stadium for the Sounds, we should have spent $100 million on getting the Montreal Expo's. The Titans were 5-11 last year. If people think sports teams and sports stadiums show the economic vitality of a city, they are sadly mistaken.

Who is going to buy all of these condo's going up everywhere? There are over 50 subdivisions being built out of downtown as we speak, and we have over 100 condo projects in midtown and downtown right now with more to come. Don't you think we are over building? There are according to Emporis 569,000 people in Nashville and 1.6 million in the 8 county MSA. Who is going to live in all these places? Not to mention all of the work being done in Belmont, Woodbine, East Nashville, North Nashville.

I think we are being stretched a little thin, and although this is private money for the sounds, if the have anymore bad seasons, they won't pay for themselves anyway. I am not trying to be cynical, just realistic.

I don't believe in investing in minor league sports, Sorry, I don't.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Kats are a new franchise...so I don't think many expected them to be stellar right off the bat...give em some time. The Titans may have had a bad year...but they have had a lot of success here...and I don't see the stadium struggling for fans to show up....none of our games were blacked out by the NFL....I don't see a problem there. Also, remember, the Sounds were in the PCL Championship 2 years ago. Their success has little to do with their attendance right now...its that rat hole that they play in...

The stats from emporis are a bit off. We now have a 13 county metro area...but only about 1.3-1.4 million people.

And finally, you must not like baseball...what gives??? Lol.

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I understand all of the economic impact studies. I have been in Nashville since 1965. I lived in Houston Texas before that. I just think we have enough sports stadiums. We have no more hockey this year and the Kats are terrible, so how is the Arena going to get revenue? The NCAA's are not going to pay the bills for a year. If anyone is going to spend $40 million on a stadium for the Sounds, we should have spent $100 million on getting the Montreal Expo's. The Titans were 5-11 last year. If people think sports teams and sports stadiums show the economic vitality of a city, they are sadly mistaken.

Who is going to buy all of these condo's going up everywhere? There are over 50 subdivisions being built out of downtown as we speak, and we have over 100 condo projects in midtown and downtown right now with more to come. Don't you think we are over building? There are according to Emporis 569,000 people in Nashville and 1.6 million in the 8 county MSA. Who is going to live in all these places? Not to mention all of the work being done in Belmont, Woodbine, East Nashville, North Nashville.

I think we are being stretched a little thin, and although this is private money for the sounds, if the have anymore bad seasons, they won't pay for themselves anyway. I am not trying to be cynical, just realistic.

I don't believe in investing in minor league sports, Sorry, I don't.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i'm not sure what your reasoning is behind wanting the expos. we're talking about building a new stadium for an existing team. more and more people are moving downtown. this is just another incentive to move downtown. if we want a centralized city, we need to offer many thing downtown. this is simply one of the many things that will be offered.

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Yes, I'm still interested in the Expos-to-Nashville move. j/k

I agree that sports stadiums shouldn't be funded with public money--up to a point. Every study has shown that the costs outweigh the benefits. Now, having said that, I also think not everything can be computed strictly in dollars and cents. Sports is an emotional thing--people cheer for their college, city, whatever, and that's not something that can be reduced strictly to a money analysis.

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Dave, take a drink or something! I just said I was against minor league teams getting expensive stadiums since people do not travel to see them. Enough money from Nashville for stadiums. You and I both know that the developers will ask for Tax Increment Financing from metro eventually.

Take a pill, give me a break!

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BTW, I like baseball. I go to several Braves games a year. The Kats are not new, they just took a two year hiatas. They may be better eventually, but the arena league has had its problems with franchises folding due to low attendance. The Arena 2 league does pretty well, but it is in small market cities like Murfreesboro and cities that size.

Our AA team the Nashville express lasted a year. The Stars and the Knights faded away. Minor league sports is just that...minor league.

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Dave, get a boyfriend or something! I just said I was against minor league teams getting expensive stadiums since people do not travel to see them. Enough money from Nashville for stadiums. You and I both know that the developers will ask for Tax Increment Financing from metro eventually.

Take a pill, give me a break!

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minor league teams do not need that many fans to pack a stadium, unlike the titans. nashville does not need to draw people in to make the sounds successful. in a metro with over 1.4 million people, i beleive that 15,000-18,000 people will be willing to go to games. besides, a new baseball park isn't just about making money for the city, it's about having pride for the city. just look at all of the parks. do they make money for the city? no. are they worthwhile to the city? yes. a new ballpark can and will do the same thing in the city of nashville.

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I know what your thinkin, but if you really love baseball and you live a few block away, wouldnt you walk to a game. I dont even like the sport and i would do it. If you live close you go. If you live in the burbs, which you prob. do, you have no interest in driving 15 or 20 minutes to see a small minor league team play. That is also a draw to downtown as if you want to watch Baseball that is not that different from the pros anyway, you have it. Also any minor leage sport is not that much different from the pros, its low cost, and it is fun. You are totally missing the concept of sports, to enjoy them. They arent there to brag about having the Expos come and blow in Nashville. That I think would be even more embarrasing. A MLB team here would be terrible. It would be like haveing the Royals or the Brewers. MLB is for MAJOR cities!!!!!!

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BTW, I like baseball. I go to several Braves games a year. The Kats are not new, they just took a two year hiatas. They may be better eventually, but the arena league has had its problems with franchises folding due to low attendance. The Arena 2 league does pretty well, but it is in small market cities like Murfreesboro and cities that size.

Our AA team the Nashville express lasted a year. The Stars and the Knights faded away. Minor league sports is just that...minor league.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Kats ARE new. Different franchise, different players...they started from scratch this year...and we led the Arena leagues in attendance when we had a team earlier.

Our AA team, the Express, wasn't meant to last here...it was just a temp home for them.

"Following the

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Oh, I don't pretend to be a sports guru, I just know from experience that cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and others did not rely on sports to grow like Nashville SEEMS to be doing now. I read in the newspaper, I think it was WSJ that Brimingham was growing and the city already said it would never invite pro sports. Birmingham is big in magazine publishing, banking and other businesses without needing pro sports to boost the economy.

This is coming from a guy who does not believe in athletic scholarships for colleges either. That is another topic I don't want to get into! I shy away from politics, religion, abortion and college sports.

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