NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — To pay for the proposed new Titans stadium, the Metro Council will have to approve a 1% hotel tax hike that targets tourists.
"I do know that with the way that the stadiums around the NFL are getting built, and Major League Baseball are getting built, they’re bigger, they’re nicer, and they’re drawing more and this downtown area is awesome now. But with a new stadium that may help it thrive even more," visitor Jeff Baumgartner said.
Baumgartner said when the Rams left St. Louis to move to Los Angeles, it hurt their economy.
"With being the centerpiece of the city, that’s now gone — desolate, and unfortunately, downtown has kind of crumbled with it," Baumgartner said.
Now, the Rams play in a $5 billion stadium in Los Angeles that was paid for with private funds.
MetLife Stadium — where the Jets and Giants play — was also constructed without tax dollars, according to Maurice Carreno.
"See that’s an issue to me because many many brand-new stadiums are built with not government money — not taxpayer money — but corporate money," Carreno said.
He said with inflation, people are pinching pennies. That's why he's staying in an Airbnb that was more affordable than some downtown hotels.
"We already have increases in so many different situations. It’s called recession," Carreno said.
However, Michael Van Slambrouck believes making tourists pay for the new stadium is creative and sneaky.
He thinks it would benefit the city to have a top-notch stadium.
"I don’t think most travelers are going to flinch at paying 1%," Slambrouck said. "They’re coming to Nashville, because Nashville it’s an attraction, the city itself is a destination."
The Greater Nashville Hospitality Association, the group that represents hotels, supports the tax hike. They issued a statement:
"The Greater Nashville Hospitality Association is in strong support of the 1% increase in hotel occupancy tax to support a new enclosed stadium. The tax is imposed by hotels and paid by visitors and will generate revenue to help pay bonds on the new stadium. We’ve taxed the hospitality industry before to fund other major investments - most notably the Music City Center -- and the city’s hotel community is on board with another tax increase on themselves. The industry believes the return on investment would be immense in terms of new opportunities, including major events like the Super Bowl, WrestleMania, Final Four, College Football Playoffs, year-round concert tours and more. The industry sees enormous new opportunities beneficial to the entire region and its residents in sales tax generation, entertainment offerings and global recognition."
The Metro Council is expected to take the first step Tuesday evening to approve the hotel occupancy tax hike.
A new stadium and lease agreement would likely bind the Titans to Nashville for decades. Read the terms here.
