by Jon Styf
A new poll of Davidson County voters shows that they opposes the deal to give the Tennessee Titans $1.26 billion toward a new $2.1 billion stadium and oppose giving a potential Major League Baseball team public subsidies for a stadium.
The poll, paid for by the Tennesseans for Student Success, interviewed 500 Davidson County voters May 2-4 on a variety of topics.
The poll – from the coalition of teachers, parents, community leaders and volunteers – found that 56.9% opposed the stadium deal, 28.3% supported it and 14.9% are unsure.
The Metro Nashville Council approved the deal in late April for a new stadium, set to open in 2027, by a 26-12 vote. The deal includes a $3.1 billion tax capture that is set to pay $1.4 billion of debt service on $760 million in sports authority revenue bonds along with paying everything from future capital expenses to maintenance to infrastructure such as parking decks around the project.
The tax capture includes a year-round 1% Davidson County hotel tax, 100% of state and local sales tax for sales at the stadium, a $3 ticket tax for stadium events and 50% of state and local taxes in a 130-acre zone drawn around the new stadium. The deal also includes the demolition of Nissan Stadium, the Titans’ home since fall of 1999.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Stars have been working to bring an Major League Baseball team to Nashville, stating they would choose a site in North Nashville near Tennessee State University and use “almost all private funding.”
A recent poll from Vanderbilt says 52% of voters polled opposed the new Titans stadium, with support highest among Republicans and lowest among Democrats, with independents falling in the middle.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
