Bridgestone Arena begins construction on $650M renovation plan

A rendering of the renovated exterior of Bridgestone Arena following an estimated $650 million expansion set to begin in 2027.

Over the past 15 years, $120 million in arena maintenance and improvement projects were completed, which represents about 18% of the cost of the coming expansion.

Henry said it would probably be cheaper to build an entirely new arena elsewhere in Nashville, but he wouldn't want to be anywhere other than Broadway. That's why the Preds renewed their lease for another 30 years in 2019.

"The goal is very, very simple: Make the arena better, make the arena bigger and make the arena more welcoming, inviting and useful," Henry said. "We're the beneficiaries of the excitement of Broadway. Even if they're not going to the honky tonks, walking up, you feel that buzz growing and the explosion when you get to our building. This is to enhance that even more for our fans."

How is Bridgestone Arena expanding?

Between 600 to 700 seats will be added to Bridgestone's overall capacity with bigger concourses and more bathrooms, as well as more opportunities for seven-day-a-week retail and restaurant offerings within the arena.

"Right now, we're designing shell spaces, thinking what could this space be? It's very conceptual," Chief Strategy Officer Kyle Clayton said last year. "We're creating opportunities at this point before we define what becomes what."

A few possibilities include a two-story restaurant on the Demonbreun Street side of the building, a hotel going into the 20-story tower to be built on the corner of Demonbreun and Sixth Avenue, a sports bar and maybe even a bowling alley. They haven't confirmed the primary use of the two planned adjacent towers beyond likely hotel rooms.

On the exterior, much of the concrete that makes up the current Bridgestone Arena will be replaced with windows, open-air concourses and massive digital screens.

Looking at the arena from Legends Corner and Tootsie's, the right-hand side of the building will become 100,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space across four levels. On the Demonbreun Street side, there will be another 75,000 square feet for shops or restaurants.

How will the Bridgestone Arena expansion work?

During the summer months each year, Bridgestone powers down its event schedule and tackles some kind of construction or development project, like the $15 million California Closets Studio premium club in 2024 or the upcoming $10 million to $12 million locker room training complex.

Now that construction has begun, the main entrance to the building will shift down this summer. The first piece of the project will be constructing the escalators that will extend up the multi-level retail and restaurant area.

Then comes the excavation.

Bridgestone will continue to be shut down for two to three months at a time during the summers of 2027, 2028 and 2029 before targeted project completion ahead of the 2029-2030 hockey season.

However, the towers will likely take longer, Clayton said.

"We pride ourselves on always being under renovation, essentially," he said. "But the core would hopefully be done by 2030, probably tower aside."

Henry and Clayton both said the Predators and Bridgestone Arena hope to build on multi-generational love for their institutions. That means never letting maintenance fall to the wayside, always emphasizing the fan experience and working with consultants like CAA Icon who have been part of the renovations of Wrigley Field, Madison Square Garden and Lambeau Field.

Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work,subscribe to The Tennessean.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's Bridgestone Arena starts $650 million renovation