The firm took note of the current state of the arena, highlighted its deficiencies and estimated the cost for its recommended upgrades.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – At the request of the Nashville Predators, consulting firm CAA ICON performed a long-term assessment of Bridgestone Arena and recommended a plan to maintain the venue through 2049.
At a recent Metropolitan Sports Authority meeting, Michael Godoy, a senior director for CAA ICON, described the evaluation as a “proactive approach.” The firm took note of the current state of the arena, highlighted its deficiencies and estimated the cost for its recommended upgrades.
“It’s a planning tool for management to know what a 25-year outlook would entail,” Godoy said.
Godoy said considering his 30 years of experience working in venue management, he was impressed with the current condition of the 28-year-old building.
“It’s been very well maintained and it’s in good condition,” Godoy said. “There are systems that unfortunately are beyond their useful life, so that’s what the report is reflecting.”
CAA ICON estimated that improvements to Bridgestone Arena over the next quarter-century will cost $70 million to $292 million.
Over the last decade, the Nashville Predators have invested over $150 million into venue upgrades, $15 million of which was used this past summer.
Kyle Clayton, chief strategy officer for the Nashville Predators, said Bridgestone Arena is user-funded, meaning the cost of renovations is covered through ticket and sales tax generated from event tickets.
According to Pollstar’s 2024 Mid-Year Report, Bridgestone Arena ranked seventh in the nation for ticket sales and 16th in the world for gross revenue.
Clayton emphasized that there are already enough funds from the collected taxes to continue making improvements through 2049.
“The exciting part is Davidson County taxpayers and the government itself do not have to fund this building one dime,” Clayton said. “There’s no burden on people that don’t use this building.”
“Every time you come to this building, we want to make sure you’re seeing something new, you’re coming into a nice, clean, safe building, and you’re having a great time whether you’re coming in the front door as a fan or the back door as an artist or performer,” Clayton said.
Following its evaluation of Bridgestone Arena, CAA ICON put together a detailed 25-year expenditure plan. The 120-page report listed several recommendations including replacing original roofs, repairing sidewalks, making concourse cosmetic upgrades and adding more parent and sensory rooms.
“In working with the arena management team, there was a very collaborative experience where information was blowing both ways, real-life experiences, near-life experiences, in terms of five or 10-year-old data that we were using to inform that report,” Godoy said. There’s nothing critical, no red flags, but definitely opportunities to include in any further future advancement renovations.”
Clayton said they’ll begin tackling the most important renovations during the off-season.
“We want to be Madison Square Garden,” Clayton said. “We want to be Wrigley Field. We want to be the building that stands the test of time and just continue to be here and be an iconic building for the city of Nashville.”