(Murfreesboro, TN) (Murfreesboro, TN) The 112th General Assembly has come to a close and a brand-new Tennessee Titans dome seems to be inching closer to reality.
State Representative Charlie Baum, who is a professor of Economics at MTSU, said legislators ultimately voted to help fund a proposed Titans dome…
Governor Bill Lee and Speaker of the House Jerry Sexton, both supported $500-million in state funding to go towards construction costs of a new dome stadium. However, $500-million is a far stretch from the actual cost, which could equal up to $2.2-billion.
Baum reported the state projects an increase in sales tax revenue if a new dome / football arena surrounded by a mixed-use development is built…
If the Metro Nashville Government and the Titans can figure out a way to fund the majority of the costs through tax dollars, low interest bonds and private funding, then a new Titans dome could be on the horizon of the growing Nashville skyline.
As for a timeline, reports indicate construction would take 31-months to build with an expected completion date of 2026.
In Smyrna, State Representative Mike Sparks told WGNS that he was against the state helping to fund a new Titans dome…
The site of the proposed stadium would be along the banks of the Cumberland River, north of the current stadium that opened in 1999.
Scroll down to hear and read more about the proposed Titans dome…
More on a new Titans Dome – Continued…
Over the past 24-months, there have been multiple reports highlighting the need to renovate the current home of the Titans, known as the Nissan Stadium. The idea to renovate the current stadium was put on the backburner when the price tag came in at more than $1-billion, due to structural elements needing replacement as opposed to repair.
One of the costly changes called for the concrete frame of the facility, supporting everything from seating to sky boxes, to be replaced with steel.
Representative Baum suggested it was surprising to hear about the costly repairs needed at the Nissan Stadium that first opened as the Adelphia Coliseum only 23-years ago, when the UT Knoxville Neyland Stadium, which first opened in 1921, still stands strong and only underwent three to four major renovations.
Representative Sparks elaborated on his thoughts surrounding a proposed Titans dome, that would include $500-million in state funding to build...