Apr 16, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators celebrate the win against the Dallas Stars during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
As the Nashville Predators prepare for the start of training camp on Wednesday, the club is also looking ahead to the future.
According to the Nashville Tennessean, plans are underway for renovations and upgrades to Bridgestone Arena and the block surrounding it.
On Tuesday, Predators Chief Strategy Officer Kyle Clayton presented plans to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce for $750 million in upgrades to Bridgestone Arena.
Clayton’s presentation was delivered at the arena to the Chamber’s Economic Development Council. The $750 million proposal is up from the original $650 million figure which was presented to the Council last spring by Preds majority owner and former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam.
Along with upgrades and renovations to the arena, the plans include 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space along the Broadway side. Once the home of the city’s police department and Register of Deeds, the concrete block would contain bars, restaurants, shops and open space, including a rooftop bar overlooking lower Broadway.
“We want the energy from Broadway to come inside and for the energy at our events to be outside,” Clayton told the Council. “The building was designed to be introverted, to keep everything inside. We want to flip that.”
The plans are still under review and have not yet been finalized. The proposed expansion would be about 175,000 square feet, and would include the construction of two adjoining towers and add the “largest rooftop on Broadway,” according to Clayton.
The planned renovations would also add to Bridgestone Arena’s capacity, the goal being to get to 18,000 seats for Predators home games. The current seating capacity is 17,159.
Funds for the upgrades would be through ticket surcharges at Predators games and sales tax generated at the arena. Any overages in the $750 million budget would be paid by team ownership. This means the burden of funding would not fall to local taxpayers. No city or public funding would be used, and upgrades would commence next summer.
“We want to be a good steward of this asset,” Clayton said. “Our goal is to create even more activity and more experiences for folks when they come downtown.”