The developers behind a proposed 233-acre mega-complex outside of Nashville provided some new details during a recent public meeting.
Most notably: Plans call for the city of Franklin and Williamson County to build a $40M ice venue for The Banks at Brownland. The facility would then be leased to the NHL’s Nashville Predators; the team would operate the facility and cover its expenses.
The Preds are one of three pro teams involved in the project along with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans and MLS’ Nashville FC.
100K-square-foot hockey facility
11 football/lacrosse/soccer fields
Golf course, driving range
Permanent facility for local religious non-profit
Grocery store, restaurants
Fitness, medical offices
Brownland Farm — a decades-old equestrian center — would relocate its operations to make way for the project. Some land would also be acquired from a nearby church.
The bulk of the project site sits in a 100-year floodplain, but developers said they would design the layout so the golf course and outdoor fields took on water first. Infrastructure to reduce flood risks are also planned.
The ice situation is interesting from a big-picture perspective.
The Predators are sort of duplicating the Dallas Stars’ playbook for boosting grassroots hockey in an untraditional market, but with a key distinction.
The Stars own and operate 11 facilities and say they have a presence in several others. This would be the Preds’ fifth facility, but they do not own any of them — they simply operate and program within private-public partnerships.
Another similarity: There are concerns about the Preds having an ice monopoly in the region — an issue the Stars have dealt with, including some unflattering press.
Everyone knows the economics of ice facilities are extremely challenging and there does seem to be somewhat of a consensus that community investments and public-private partnerships will be integral moving forward.
It will be interesting to see if other NHL teams take an aggressive approach like the Preds, Stars and Utah Mammoth, who have pledged up to $10M in funding for local rinks.
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