There is not a manual that states the NFL standards for stadiums, even though the language of “first class” is carried forward from the current stadium lease agreement and incorporated in the term sheet between Metro Nashville, the Sports Authority, the Tennessee Titans, and the to-be-formed StadiumCo for the new stadium.
Burke Nihill, President and CEO of the Tennessee Titans (pictured above) shared the insight with the Nashville Metropolitan Sports Authority at a specially called meeting held on Thursday, November 10 at Nissan Stadium, the team’s current home.
Much of the debate about whether to renovate the existing Nissan Stadium or build a new stadium centers on the term “first-class condition” included in the 1996 stadium lease agreement and the requirement to maintain the existing facility to that standard.
“First Class Condition,” as written in an annex to the 1996 lease, states that it “shall mean the condition satisfying each of the following: (a) being in compliance with Applicable Law, (b) being in good condition and repair, normal wear and tear excepted, and (c) having the level of improvements and new technology from time to time found at a reasonable number of Comparable Facilities, provided that, with respect to improvements and new technology that perform a completely new function rather than being a replacement, upgrade or enhancement of then existing portions of the Facilities, this clause (c) shall be limited to the level of improvements and new technology that at the time in question have been successfully implemented in a majority of Comparable Facilities.”
Nihill told Sports Authority members he understood the line of questioning about how much it would cost to bring the current stadium to “first class condition” or NFL standards. He went on to offer a couple of examples of the kinds of “rolling expectations” for facilities he hears about as one of 32 people in the role.
“All of this is very unsatisfying, I know, because there’s not a manual I can hand you that says these are the NFL standards. There isn’t such a thing that’s that,” Nihill said.
Rather, Nihill explained, there is a collection of expectations and memos that, with only 32 of these organizations in the world, “the NFL has expectations that these venues are going to be of a certain quality.”
“I would also go back to you on first-class condition. It’s the same thing,” Nihill said.
The term sheet, a non-binding document that will serve as the basis for definitive agreements, uses the phrase “first class” in at least five different areas.
On the first page of the document with regard to the definition of the new stadium project, the term sheet states in part, “Construction of a public sports, entertainment, and cultural multi-purpose venue that will include a new, first class, state-of-the-art, enclosed stadium.” In the term sheet, the additional phrase “state-of-the-art” is also as undefined as “first class.”
Under the design and construction provision, the term sheet states “The quality standard for the Stadium shall be first-class and state-of-the-art.” It goes on to say that the meaning is a level of design and construction generally consistent with the whole of Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as comparable NFL facilities.
Under the structure section, the term sheet states that operational standards will be developed, consistent with a quality operations standard (QOS) for comparable NFL stadiums of a similar age. If StadiumCo’s compliance or lack thereof with the QOS results in the stadium not being comparable with other first-class NFL stadiums, the Sports Authority is not obligated to fund or make improvements to make the stadium comparable.
Under the operating expenses management portion of the stadium facility management section, there are two references to “first-class.”
First, the term sheet requires that, other than certain exceptions that fall to the Sports Authority or Metro, StadiumCo will operate and maintain the stadium in a safe, clean, attractive and first-class manner comparable to that of other NFL stadiums of similar design and age and in a manner consistent with all applicable requirements imposed by NFL rules and regulations.
Second, under capital expenditures, StadiumCo shall make capital repairs, replacements, and improvements such that the stadium remains a safe, clean, attractive, and first-class facility reasonably comparable to other first-class NFL stadiums of similar age.
Finally, the Stadium Project Scope appearing as Exhibit 1 to the term sheet states in part, “The stadium shall be a new, first class, state-of-the-art, enclosed facility.”
The 1996 lease agreement for the Nissan Stadium, after defining capital projects in terms of dollar amounts, scope, and classification within generally accepted accounting principles, states that all capital project expenses are those that cause all or any part of the facilities to be in “first class” condition and that the costs were to be paid by Metro. Metro has not covered these expenses as required; the stadium has not been appropriately maintained or improved, and the Titans have incurred $32 million in reimbursable expenses.
Similarly, the term sheet for the new stadium requires that a capital repairs reserve fund be established with excess revenues statutorily set aside for the stadium, although the dollar amounts have yet to be announced.
As East Bank Stadium Committee Chair Bob Mendes has repeatedly sounded the alarm and stated in a post on his website about the unknown costs for the overall project including the stadium, stadium village and stadium campus, and specifically about the unnamed capital repairs reserve fund, “One of them – stockpiling tax dollars for future stadium improvements – is so unknown that the closest the Mayor’s Office can get is to say that it will be ‘hundreds of millions’ of dollars.”
In addition to the several references to “first class,” undefined by the NFL, also included in the term sheet is a requirement that the stadium be maintained in a manner and that capital repairs, replacements, and improvements be made consistent with all applicable requirements imposed by NFL rules and regulations, which Nihill indicated are non-existent.
The video of the specially called meeting of the Nashville Metropolitan Sports Authority held on Thursday, November 10 at Nissan Stadium can be viewed here.
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Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Star News Network, where she covers stories for The Tennessee Star.
Photo “Burke Nihill” by Tennessee Titans. Background Photo “Nissan Stadium” by Nissan Stadium.
