NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For the Tennessee Titans, building a new stadium also means strengthening “OneCommunity” for Nashville, according to Titans president & CEO Burke Nihill.
Nihill spoke with members of Nashville’s Power Poll on Thursday morning to share details on the proposed $2.1 billion stadium and how it could impact residents.
“This is something that is being built with Nashville locals in mind,” Nihill said. “This is the people’s house. It could host a Super Bowl on a Sunday and that’s an incredible thing for this community, but the idea of just a rotating door of incredible community-serving purposes coming through inspires us as much as anything.”
He said maintaining Nissan Stadium is a major challenge financially and would cost three to four times the price tag of the original stadium. On the flip side, he said building a new stadium could lead to generational opportunity.
The Titans shared details on their “OneCommunity” project, focusing on opportunities, neighborhoods, and education.
“OneCommunity is the culmination of probably two years plus of effort to really dig in and understand what the needs of the community are, what the challenges are, and how the Titans as an organization can affect that,” said Adolpho Birch, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for the Tennessee Titans.
Nihill said through this program, there are 16 community partnerships already on deck, including Citizens Bank Small Business Program, Funding Shovel-Ready Housing Development, and Metro Public Schools. These partnerships would support OneCommunity’s vision.
“I think when done correctly you can enhance daily life,” said Birch. “At the end of the day, it’ll be a better experience.”
Nihill said the new stadium would be the “people’s house” with opportunities to use year-round community spaces. Plus, he said the funding burden would shift from taxpayers to the state, metro revenue, permanent seat licenses, the Titans, and the NFL, who confirmed their contribution Wednesday.