NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — At the Easley Community Center, different groups made their case as to why they deserve taxpayer dollars — but the money was actually fake. It was part of an exercise put on by organizers of Stand Up Nashville.
"We just want a transparent process," said organizer Diamond Bell.
Organizers said the meeting was a way for the public to get together with local leaders and share their thoughts on the future of a stadium for the Titans.
"So, we just wanted to give more education on the proposal but also give a space to where we — the community can have a voice and express their feelings about it," Bell said.
It comes a day after Mayor John Cooper filed legislation backed by the Titans for a final agreement to construct a new $2.1 billion enclosed stadium.
Metro Council member Bob Mendes has been critical of the plan.
"It's literally like 250 pages worth of dense legal documents," he said. "So, it's going to take a little bit of time to read through it to find out how much it matches up with the term sheet that we've already seen."
The proposed legislation still has to go through three rounds of voting by Metro Council, but a final vote could come as early as April.
"You know, council hears from lobbyists literally every day, but when we're out in the community there's more questions about a stadium than excitement about a stadium," said Mendes.
As plans for the stadium move forward, organizers say they'll continue community meetings to make sure their voices are heard along the way.
"We are here together to fight for what we believe in," said Bell. "This is our city; we grew up here. I'm born and raised here, and I don't want to see it go down the drain somewhere because the community doesn't have a voice."
