NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville Mayor John Cooper said at a press conference Monday that Metro taxpayers would not be on the hook for the cost of a new Tennessee Titans stadium, according to the plan unveiled Monday.
"We're proposing a new stadium paid for by the team, the state, tourists, and spending around the stadium — not by your family," Cooper said.
But NewsChannel 5 dug into the details of Cooper's plan to find that in some circumstances, families in Nashville could, in fact, be paying for part of the new stadium's construction.
In addition to other funding sources, earlier this year, state lawmakers approved $500 million to go toward a new domed stadium in Nashville.
"Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that Nashville families will, in fact, be paying at least some of the cost of this new stadium through the money the state is giving them?" asked NewsChannel 5's Jason Lamb at Cooper's press conference.
"Well, that's a matter for the state," Cooper responded. "What this council is evaluating — what I'm evaluating — is what's on the Metro side."
But all Tennesseans will feel the impact of the money the state is forking over for the new stadium — $500 million in state funds that can't be otherwise saved or spent on different priorities like roads or education in Nashville and beyond.
In addition to money from the state and the Titans, tourists will also pay for the stadium's construction through a new hotel/motel tax, and other taxes charged in and near the new stadium.
But what if tourism numbers in Nashville — and those tax dollars — take a dive 20 or 30 years from now?
Officials in the Mayor's office said the answer is not very simple.
The Mayor's office told us that if Metro is required to back the bonds with its own credit, Metro taxpayers could in fact be left on the hook for those bond payments if hospitality tax revenues tank and a specially-created reserve fund runs dry. Though, the Mayor's office said the odds of all of those factors happening are unlikely.
The Mayor's office said it's unclear whether Metro would be required to sign on as a backer to guarantee the stadium bonds, saying it's a decision the bondholders would have to make closer to the middle of next year, when those bonds would formally be issued.
