MLB stadium at Tennessee State University

[MTLynn]

Music City Baseball to begin site assessment for future MLB stadium at Tennessee State University​

Julia Masters

~2 minutes

---

TSU could not immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Music City Baseball's goal is to have construction — site preparation work such as utilities and grading work — begin in 2024. John Loar, managing director for Music City Baseball, said in a previous interview that the group’s timeline is focused on the potential Nashville Stars playing their first season in 2027.

The group previously identified the Texas Rangers' Global Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and the Atlanta Braves' The Batter in Atlanta as projects comparable to what they are hoping to bring to Nashville. Both serve not only as baseball stadiums, but also entertainment and event venues. The project cost for Global Life Field was around $1.2 billion.

Music City Baseball would, “start engaging the site itself and preparing it for a stadium-like facility,” before Nashville was awarded an MLB team, Henley said.

Though Music City Baseball is still considering other options, Henley has confidence in the TSU site’s viability for a stadium, despite its location along the river.

“A lot of the sites on the river are now being activated in a way Nashville hasn’t done before,” Henley said. “… That orientation of the site is really what this assessment will help us determine going forward, really shaping the vision of what that site can be. I think it’s definitely viable for all the needs that we envision.”

Building an MLB stadium at TSU would bring amenities to North Nashville that it used to be void of, Henley said, through the facility itself and the mixed-use development that would come with it.

“I don’t know if any other HBCU in the country is positioned to have that type of dramatic growth in such a dynamic space,” Henley said.

 

[coachchia]

I hope a stadium at TSU is nixed.... TSU has a long standing reputation for mismanagement and shady dealings...

 

[ewglenn]

I’d be surprised if they picked that area for a stadium. I’d think Brentwood/Franklin would even be higher on their list similar to the Braves and Cobb County.

 

[coachchia]

I’d be surprised if they picked that area for a stadium. I’d think Brentwood/Franklin would even be higher on their list similar to the Braves and Cobb County.

The people I know with inside info say they are looking for a river spot to revitalize and look good going forward for the city...

 

[ewglenn]

The people I know with inside info say they are looking for a river spot to revitalize and look good going forward for the city...

I work in construction management and all the chatter I’ve heard is they want SA Recycling’s plot of land. SA is hell bent on not giving up the land even with the almost unethical tax increases they’ve been given recently.

 

[MTLynn]

This could mean the end of tsu's undergraduate campus in Nashville. I expect that all tsu undergrad classes will shift to Murfreesboro.

 

[MT01]

I’d be surprised if they picked that area for a stadium. I’d think Brentwood/Franklin would even be higher on their list similar to the Braves and Cobb County.

If they want to mimic what the Braves have done then yes. Notice they didn’t repeat the same mistake they did in the 90s placing it in the cheap rent district because - well - the land was cheaper. But it was cheaper because it was in a crime ridden area. Rather than putting up a new park in south Atlanta they put it in the place where a majority of the fan base who came to games actually lived. It was smart. If this were to happen placing the ballpark “village” in an area where people live who are more likely to be baseball fans and also be more likely to dine, shop, etc and spend money would give the franchise a chance to actually be successful. I’m not averse to investing real property projects in lower rent areas to revitalize an area. I just don’t support it for a baseball scenario, because the demographics don’t work since those neighborhoods don’t typically follow baseball much and you’re forcing fans to commute to a part of the city they wouldn’t otherwise have a need to traverse to. And this has proven true in many places in the country.

Williamson and Rutherford have a higher population than the four other counties bordering Davidson combined. So, where are most of the attendees going to come from? If the goal is to keep it in Davidson County they should look for land south or southwest of downtown Nashville. Yeah, it’s would be harder and cost more but you’re only going to get one chance to get this right for the next 30 years.

 

[ewglenn]

If they want to mimic what the Braves have done then yes. Notice they didn’t repeat the same mistake they did in the 90s placing it in the cheap rent district because - well - the land was cheaper. But it was cheaper because it was in a crime ridden area. Rather than putting up a new park in south Atlanta they put it in the place where a majority of the fan base who came to games actually lived. It was smart. If this were to happen placing the ballpark “village” in an area where people live who are more likely to be baseball fans and also be more likely to dine, shop, etc and spend money would give the franchise a chance to actually be successful. I’m not averse to investing real property projects in lower rent areas to revitalize an area. I just don’t support it for a baseball scenario, because the demographics don’t work since those neighborhoods don’t typically follow baseball much and you’re forcing fans to commute to a part of the city they wouldn’t otherwise have a need to traverse to. And this has proven true in many places in the country.

Williamson and Rutherford have a higher population than the four other counties bordering Davidson combined. So, where are most of the attendees going to come from? If the goal is to keep it in Davidson County they should look for land south or southwest of downtown Nashville. Yeah, it’s would be harder and cost more but you’re only going to get one chance to get this right for the next 30 years.

Everything I’ve heard since I made that comment has pretty much ruled that out. It makes a lot of sense but they seem focused on those two options (SA Recycling and TSU). I hope they get it right but I highly doubt SA sells off their land.

 

[mtfblue]

why not just add 20k seats and suites to 1st horizon