Titans, city work to play game after delay

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After a one-hour postponement, the Titans were able to play their pivotal week 16 AFC South game against the Texans Saturday at Nissan Stadium as rolling blackouts due to the extreme cold expired throughout Middle Tennessee.

The decision to postpone kickoff came after hours of conversations between Titans team officials, the NFL, Nashville Electric Service, Operations of Emergency Management and Mayor John Cooper's office. Ultimately, the parties agreed on the one-hour postponement, ensuring the game would be played on its original date without any further impact on the power grid in Nashville.

The Titans announced that the delay was made "in an abundance of caution to ensure that the game would not negatively impact our community in any way. We are exploring every possibility to minimize non-essential power around the stadium."

A team spokesperson told NewsChannel 5 that normal activities outside the stadium were canceled, and the team limited the number of gates and concession stands that were open in an effort to reduce the power needs at the stadium.

The first sign of issues came Friday morning when multiple pipes burst inside Nissan Stadium. According to a team source, about three dozen pipes burst inside the stadium, causing extensive water damage in club levels and around several vendor areas.

Workers were called in to perform necessary repairs and clean up, requiring the stadium lights be turned on to allow them to safely do their work. At no time during the repairs was the stadium, or the surrounding area, part of any of the rolling blackouts needed to stabilize the power grid for the city. Workers completed the stadium repairs around daybreak Saturday morning, according to a source.

Around that same time, NES experienced another surge on the power grid; the result of temperatures plummeting to near zero, forcing a further strain on an already taxed system as people tried to heat and light their homes. Plans were put in place to execute another round of rolling blackouts, but this time one of the areas of concern included the east bank of the river and Nissan Stadium.

With the possibility of intermittent power disruptions at the stadium continuing into midday, conversations about the possibility of needing to move the game began. Mayor John Cooper tweeted that he asked the Titans to "postpone the game in solidarity with our neighbors."

At the same time, there was considerable pressure on all parties to find a way to play the game due to the logistical nightmare of rescheduling. The Titans are scheduled to play again just five days from now on Thursday Night Football against the Cowboys, and there would be no way to make up the game before the end of the regular season in two weeks. Moving the game would also require an adjustment to the television broadcast window and force the organization to try to staff the stadium with ticket takers, concession workers, operations and safety personnel on a new day — potentially the Christmas holiday — on short notice.

Officials believed it would be possible to play the game at the scheduled noon kickoff with the rolling blackouts expected to end as the sun took hold and temperatures rose throughout the morning. But, according to a source familiar with the conversations, the Titans wanted assurances that the game could be played without interruption and without any preferential treatment if others in the community were still impacted by blackouts.

As temperatures crept up during the morning and the power grid began to stabilize, plans were made to discontinue the blackouts by noon or shortly thereafter. That's when the Titans received permission from the NFL to postpone kickoff one hour to ensure that there would be no interruptions to play or negative impact on the power supply in the community.

The decision to move the kick was made at 10:30 a.m. About 20 minutes later, NES announced that it was ceasing the TVA-mandated curtailment of power, ending the rolling blackouts.

At 1:02 p.m., the Titans and Texans kicked off in the coldest game in Nissan Stadium history. The game time temperature of 20 degrees broke the previous record of 23 set in 2017 against the Jaguars. This is a historic footnote to a tumultuous 30-plus hours for the Titans organization and the city amidst the city's first sub-zero cold snap in more than two decades.