Bridgestone Arena

Bridgestone Arena
The Stone (also: The Bridge)
Former names	Nashville Arena (1996–1999, 2007, 2010) Gaylord Entertainment Center (1999–2007) Sommet Center (2007–2010)
Location	501 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Coordinates	36°9′33″N 86°46′43″W / 36.15917°N 86.77861°W / 36.15917; -86.77861Coordinates: 36°9′33″N 86°46′43″W / 36.15917°N 86.77861°W / 36.15917; -86.77861
Broke ground	January 20, 1994[1]
Opened	December 18, 1996
Owner	Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County
Operator	Powers Management Company (subsidiary of the Nashville Predators)
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction cost	$144 million ($202 million in 2011 dollars[2])
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
Project Manager	Turner Construction[3]
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Capacity	Basketball: 19,395 Ice hockey: 17,298 (1996-1999), 17,113 (1999-present) Concert: End Stage 20,000 Half-House 10,000 Theatre: 5,145
Tenants
Nashville Predators (NHL) (1998–present) Nashville Kats (AFL) (1997–2001, 2005–2007)

Bridgestone Arena, (formerly Sommet Center, Gaylord Entertainment Center and Nashville Arena) is an all-purpose venue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, that was completed in 1996.

Ownership and usage

The Bridgestone Arena is owned by the Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County and operated by Powers Management Company, a subsidiary of the Nashville Predators National Hockey League franchise, which has been its primary tenant since 1998. The Predators hosted the NHL Entry Draft here in 2003.

In 1997, it was the venue of the United States Figure Skating Association national championships, and in 2004 hosted the U.S. Gymnastics championships. It was the home of the Nashville Kats franchise of the Arena Football League from 1997 until 2001, and hosted the team's revival from 2005 to 2007, when the Kats folded.

The venue has also hosted numerous concerts and religious gatherings, and some major basketball events, including both men's (2001, 2006, 2010) and women's tournaments of the Southeastern Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference. Since 2002, it has also hosted a PBR Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event every year (except in 2005 and 2006) until 2010. The event moved to this venue in 2002 after having previously occupied the Municipal Auditorium from 1994 to 2001; during the venue's first year hosting this event, the Built Ford Tough Series was known as the Bud Light Cup.

The venue hosted numerous WWE events since 1997, including Judgment Day in 2002.

In odd-numbered years, the arena was regularly one of eight sites to host the first and second rounds of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament for the first ten years of its existence, though it was taken out of the rotation for several years (the arena will host the event again in 2012), partly due to the obsolete octagonal mid-1990s-style scoreboard that hung above the arena floor. It was replaced in the summer of 2007 by a new $5 million scoreboard and digital control room.^[4]

Beginning in 2006, the Country Music Association Awards have been held in the arena after the awards show moved from the Grand Ole Opry House with a one year stop in New York City at Madison Square Garden in 2005.

Seating capacity

The Bridgestone Arena has a seating capacity of 17,113 for ice hockey, approximately 20,000 for basketball, 10,000 for half-house concerts, 18,500 for end-stage concerts and 20,000 for center-stage concerts, depending on the configuration used. It has also hosted several professional wrestling events and a boxing card since its opening.

The seating configuration is notable for the oddly-shaped south end, which features two large round roof support columns, no mid-level seating, and only one level of suites, bringing the upper level seats much closer to the floor.

The arena can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater, used for theater concerts and Broadway and family shows, by placing a stage at the north end of the arena floor and hanging a curtain behind the stage and another to conceal the upper deck. The arena also features 43,000 square feet (4,000 m²) of space in a trade show layout.

Awards and nominations

The Bridgestone Arena was nominated for the 2007 Pollstar Concert Industry Venue of the Year Award. This is the fourth time the venue has been nominated. The first was in 1998 as the Nashville Arena, and then in 1999 and 2000 as the Gaylord Entertainment Center.^[5]

Naming rights

The arena's original name when opened in 1996 was Nashville Arena. Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) in conjunction with the Nashville based architecture/engineering firm Hart Freeland Roberts, INC., it was designed at an angle on the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue in Nashville in physical homage to the historic Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.^[6] In 1999, the arena was renamed Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) after a 20-year, US$80 million naming rights contract was signed between the Predators and Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Company, which at the time held part-ownership of the team.^[7]

In February 2005, it was announced that the Predators and Gaylord (which had earlier sold its stake in the team) had reached an agreement terminating any further involvement between them, and that the Gaylord name would remain on the building only until a new purchaser could be found for the naming rights. As a result, many in the Nashville media quickly reverted to calling the facility by its original name. With the beginning of the 2006 season, the Predators began referring to the arena by its original name as well. In doing so, the team replaced the "Gaylord Entertainment Center" wordmark on the center ice circle with the original "Nashville Predators" wordmark from the inaugural season. The "Gaylord Entertainment Center" name, however, was still displayed on the building's exterior signage at this point.

The facility was officially renamed the Nashville Arena again and all Gaylord signage was removed from the building's exterior on March 16, 2007.^[8]

On May 18, 2007, Sommet Group, a Franklin, Tennessee-based collection of companies whose services include human resources administration, payroll processing, software development, computer repair, insurance, and risk management bought the naming rights to the arena, and it became known as Sommet Center. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.^[7][9] The company had previously been the corporate title sponsor for the Predators during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. The agreement had lasted little more than two years when the Predators sued the Sommet Group on November 25, 2009 for breach of contract, alleging the latter had failed to make numerous payments under the naming rights agreement. As part of the suit, the Predators stated intentions to seek a new title sponsor for the arena.^[10] Sommet Group's headquarters were later raided by the FBI and IRS due to suspicion of fraudulent activities, and the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated.^[11][12]

Unlike the Gaylord parting-of-ways, Sommet Group's name was stripped from all signage inside and outside the arena as soon as the team was legally allowed to do so. The building briefly resumed using the Nashville Arena moniker until February 23, 2010, when it was announced that the Predators had signed a naming rights deal with Bridgestone. The arena became known as Bridgestone Arena.^[13]

Renovations

In the summer of 2007 a number of renovations were made to what was then called the Sommet Center at a cost of several million dollars.^[14] Renovations included changes to concession stands and public areas, as well as major changes to infrastructure. The most obvious change was the August 2007 replacement of the original center-hanging scoreboard (at a cost of $3.6 million^[14]) with a new scoreboard made by ANC Sports.^[15] The original analog scoreboard had become outdated and was no longer supported by the original manufacturer, making parts difficult to come by.^[16] The new scoreboard is referred to as the "megatron" by arena and Predators staff. In addition, the TV–media control room was renovated at a cost of $2.6 million.^[14]

During the summer of 2011, a new NHL-mandated ice and dasherboard system was constructed and installed in the arena. In addition, the south side of the upper concourse was redesigned as a "fan zone". The wall separating the arena and that part of the upper concourse was removed.

References

1. ^ "Around the South Region in Brief". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Januaray 21, 1994. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADA0D37B19E6CB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. 
2. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
3. ^ http://www.turnerconstruction.com/universal/content.asp?d=5133&p=5087
4. ^ http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070112/SPORTS02/701120420/1328/SPORTS
5. ^ "Sommet Center nominated as venue of year". 2007-12-05. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2007/12/03/daily12.html?surround=lfn. 
6. ^ Gaylord Entertainment Acquires Naming Rights to Nashville
7. ^ ^{a b} http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070518/SPORTS02/705180436/1002
8. ^ http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=55008
9. ^ http://www.nashvillepredators.com/pressbox/news.asp?story_id=1364
10. ^ Gee, Brandon (November 25, 2009). "Predators sue Sommet Group, want to rename arena (again)". http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/11/23/daily27.html. 
11. ^ http://www.newschannel5.com/story/12760576/fbi-raids-sommet-group-in-cool-springs?redirected=true
12. ^ Reisinger, Brian (August 24, 2010). "Judge grants Ch. 7 petition against Sommet". http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2010/08/23/daily15.html. 
13. ^ "Predators' home could be Bridgestone Arena next week". http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100223/NEWS02/100223017/Predators-home-could-be-Bridgestone-Arena-next-week. Retrieved 2010-03-11. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ ^{a b c} Sports Authority pleads for GEC funds on Nashville City Paper
15. ^ Nashville Predators - Features: New scoreboard reaches Sommet Center floor - 08/16/2007
16. ^ Nashville Predators - Features: New video features on Preds TV - 10/26/2007

• Cass, Michael (2007-01-11). "Predators and Metro have unresolved issue". The Tennessean. http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070112/SPORTS02/701120420/1328/SPORTS. Retrieved 2007-01-11. 

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070518/SPORTS02/705180436/1002

External links

• Bridgestone Arena website
• Arena picture
• Arena map and directions

Preceded by first arena

Home of the Nashville Predators 1998 – present

Succeeded by current