Titans Vow to 'Join the Efforts" for Tornado Recovery
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans’ training facility and Nissan Stadium were not damaged by the tornado that passed through downtown early Tuesday morning.
According to a team spokesman, the twister passed about a half of a mile south of the training facility, which was operating on power from a generator Tuesday morning when staff members reported for work. All of the structures remained intact, however, and by mid-day it was largely business as usual.
Power was restored at Nissan Stadium slightly before 8 a .m. The team's facility was still on generator power as of early afternoon.
More than 20 deaths in Middle Tennessee as a result of the storm have been confirmed. The hardest hit area was Putnam County, roughly 80 miles to the east.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to those families who lost loved ones in the tornadoes last night and are heartbroken to see the damage across Nashville and Tennessee,” controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement released by the team Tuesday afternoon. “We know the strength of our community and the Volunteer spirit that lives in us all. We will join the efforts to re-build in these areas and know our neighbors will join us.”
In May 2010, a devastating flood hit downtown Nashville and surrounding areas and claimed 22 lives. Less than a week later the Titans, under the direction of the late Bud Adams, donated $200,000 to recovery efforts via the American Red Cross. The NFL and NFLPA combined to match that figure.
A week and a half after the flood, players and staff members took a break from the offseason training activities and spent a day helping with clean-up efforts. That October, as part of the NFL’s Hometown Huddle initiative, the team recognized two local organizations, United Way of Nashville and Hands On Nashville, for their work in the recovery effort. Each organization received a $2,500 donation to aide their respective efforts.
