NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) – To pay for the Titans’ new stadium project, the Metro Council will have to approve a 1% hotel tax hike that targets tourists.
“I know with the way the stadiums around the NFL are built, and Major League Baseball is built, they’re bigger, they’re prettier and they draw more and this downtown is great now. But with a new stadium, that could help it thrive even more,” visitor Jeff Baumgartner said.
Baumgartner said when the Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles, it hurt their economy.
“With being the centerpiece of the city, it’s gone now – sorry, and unfortunately the city center kind of fell apart with it,” Baumgartner said.
Now the Rams are playing in a $5 billion stadium in Los Angeles that was paid for with private funds.
MetLife Stadium β where the Jets and Giants play β was also built without taxes, according to Maurice Carreno.
“You see, that’s a problem for me, because a lot of brand new stadiums are built not with government money – not with taxpayers’ money – but with corporate money,” said Carreno.
He said that with inflation, people are pinching pennies. That’s why he’s staying at an Airbnb that’s more affordable than some downtown hotels.
“We already have increases in so many different situations. It’s called recession,” Carreno said.
However, Michael Van Slambrouck thinks charging tourists for the new stadium is creative and underhanded.
He thinks it would be beneficial for the city to have a top notch stadium.
“I don’t think most travelers are going to mind paying 1%,” Slambrouck said. “They come to Nashville, because Nashville is an attraction, the city itself is a destination.”
The Greater Nashville Hospitality Association, the group that represents hotels, supports the tax hike. They released a statement:
βThe Greater Nashville Hospitality Association strongly supports increasing the hotel occupancy tax by 1% to support a new closed stadium. The tax is imposed by hotels and paid by visitors and will generate revenue to help pay obligations on the new stadium We’ve taxed the hospitality industry before to fund other major investments – including the Music City Center – and the city’s hospitality community is okay with another tax hike on itself The industry believes the return on investment would be immense in terms of new opportunities, including major events like the Super Bowl, WrestleMania, Final Four, College Football Playoffs, year-round concert tours and more. he industry sees tremendous new opportunities to benefit the entire region and its residents in sales tax generation, entertainment offerings and recognition.”
The Metro Council is expected to take the first step on Tuesday evening to approve the rise in hotel accommodation tax.
A new stadium and lease would likely tie the Titans to Nashville for decades. Read the terms here.
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