Report: Titans, City Weighing Whether to Build a New Stadium

Nissan Stadium, which opened in 1999, currently needs hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades to modernize the venue.

The Tennessee Titans suddenly find themselves in professional sports’ version of Love It or List It.

Nissan Stadium, their home since 1999, is very much in need renovation. And the franchise has had seemingly productive negotiations on that matter about what should be done, how much it will cost and how the price will be paid.

Thursday, however, Axios Nashville reported that the parties also have agreed to consider the possibility of a new home. Because the cost estimates for needed upgrades to Nissan Stadium currently exceed half a billion dollars, local government – specifically the mayor’s office – believe it might be more cost-effective to build a whole new venue.

So, do they spend to modernize their current home, or do they break ground on a shiny, new place with many of the modern amenities?

No timetable exists to make that decision, but it seems clear that both are now legitimate options.

“Revised cost estimates require us to closely review whether a new stadium would be a better long-term financial decision,” Mayor John Cooper said in a statement released to Axios. "We won't settle for anything but the best-case scenario for Nashville.”

Such a scenario could include a domed stadium, which potentially could allow Nashville to host the highest-profile sporting events such as the Super Bowl or the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four.

In the 20-plus years since it opened, Nissan Stadium has evolved into an important sports/entertainment venue for downtown Nashville. In addition to serving as the Titans’ homefield, it regularly has hosted international soccer matches and currently is part of the city’s bid to be one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup. Every June it hosts nightly concerts that highlight the annual CMA Fest, a weeklong celebration of country music artists and fans. The Music City Bowl also is heled there every December on or around New Year’s Eve. Next week it will be the site of a hockey game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning in an NHL Stadium Series contest.

As an open-air stadium with a natural grass playing surface, however, it has its limitations.

SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which hosted Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, is the country’s most expensive sports venue. It opened in 2020 at a cost of $5.5 billion. That same year, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas – also a dome – opened at a cost of $1.9 billion. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has been in operation since 2017 and cost $1.58 billion to build.

“We need to take a step back and re-evaluate if a stadium renovation is the most responsible option forward and explore other paths,” the Titans said via Axios. “For example, the stadium's structural frame was built with concrete and needs to be largely replaced with steel. The mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems need to be completely replaced. The window system throughout the building is so antiquated that it is not even manufactured anymore."