November vote possible for new Tennessee Titans stadium

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Metro Council could vote on a proposal for a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans as early as November, according to Councilman Bob Mendes.

Mendes said based on conversations with the team and the Mayor’s Office, he has heard about several different possible timelines. Mendes chairs East Bank Stadium Committee appointed by Vice Mayor Jim Shulman.

“The fastest timeline I’ve heard would have legislation filed by November,” Mendes said. “Nobody in the Metro Council has enough information to make an independent judgement about the exact timeline. I am in a wait and see mode.”

The Tennessee Titans are looking to build a new stadium on the East Bank to replace Nissan Stadium. The team said the price tag to maintain the current stadium through 2039 would cost Metro taxpayers $1.8 billion. The cost of a new enclosed stadium is estimated to be between $1.9-$2.2 billion with $500 million pledged by the state through revenue bonds and the Tennessee Titans ownership group pledging $700 million.

Mayor John Cooper has said that through collaboration with the Titans and state government, the new stadium solution will not burden the city’s General Fund.

“Doing nothing means continuing to burden the Metro General Fund – an unacceptable status quo that will cost Nashville hundreds of millions of dollars,” Cooper said in an opinion column published in The Tennessean.

“I’m hoping to know more by the time the committee meets next on Sept. 14,” Mendes said.

The Titans and representatives from the Mayor’s Office are expected to be at the next East Bank Stadium Committee meeting set for Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m. Mendes expects both sides to make a presentation about the status of their negotiations.