Venue Detail
Nashville Predators
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
January, 2010
Nashville Predators
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501 Broadway Nashville, TN 37203-3932 Phone: 615-770-2300 Fax: 615-770-2309 URL: ww.nashvillepredators.com Owner: Predators Holdings LLC League: National Hockey League Western, Central Division
Venue
Sommet Center, 501 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203-3932 Owner: Metro Government of Nashville Managed by: Team Built: 1996 Capacity: 19,000 Permanent concession stands: 23 Concessionaire: Sportservice Suite caterer: The Levy Restaurants Soft drink: Pepsi Cola Beer: Multiple
Naming rights
Sold to: Sommet Group
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $774 to $4,945 Single tickets range from $21.00 to $225.00 2007 average attendance: 15,259 2008 average attendance: 14,910 2009 average attendance: 17,584
Luxury Suites
Quantity: 72 Term: 5 to 10 years Price: $90,000 to $160,000 Seats: 14 to 16 Includes: Tickets, parking, concierge.
Club seats
Quantity: 1,800 Term: 3 to 5 years Price: $3,569 to $3,569 Includes: Tickets, private restaurant, wait staff.
Financing
The arena cost $130 million, paid with public funds. Pct. public: 100
The Sommet Center is the home of the NHL expansion Predators. The Venue opened as the Gaylord Entertainment Center, but the company bought its way out of the agreement and the name reverted to Nashville Arena in 2007. Sommet Group purchased rights in 2007, but terms of that deal were not disclosed, except that it would last fewer than 10 years with rights of renewal.
Suites are leased by the venue.
The Predators' mostly local new owners say they want to do everything possible to keep the team in Nashville. They bought the Predators in 2008 for $193 million from Craig Leipold, who estimated his losses since 1998 at $70 million.
The Predators' owners agreed to major lease terms with Mayor Karl Dean's agreeing to give the Predators $3 million a year for five years to manage the city-owned Sommet Center, $3.8 million a year in annual operating support and additional incentives to bring more events there. In exchange, the Predators agreed to stay in Nashville for five years.
The team actually could leave after the 2009-10 season if it were to lose $20 million in that time and couldn't sell an average of 14,000 tickets a game, but it would repay Metro about $6.8 million a year.
For the 2000-2001 season the arena saw a $2 million remodeling that included a restaurant and bar for club seat holders and improvements in concession areas for other fans.
The Venue and the NHL team must compete with much larger markets, but because of its market size, the Predators cannot charge as much for premium seating and other items as teams do in larger cities. That makes the building important in providing additional revenue. Both high touch, combined with high tech are keys to the building. Wide concourses allow the team to sell destinations to building sponsors. Fox television has a slap shot center for kids.
Initial projections on the building called for profits up to $1 million to be generated after a few break-even years, but the building has struggled to make a profit. (Facilities, Financial, Ice Hockey, Professional Sports, Venue)