A new Hillwood/Bellevue H.S. vs a new soccer stadium (Green Hill: sales, 2014)

[WakeMed]

Building a new replacement Hillwood High was a movement that started in 2014 or sooner. I'm not sure how the soccer stadium which became a "thing" much later got put on a fast track (until recently) while the school is still not built. Construction (other than the land being cleared) has still not started. Megan Berry said the new school was going to be a priority before she was elected and here we are two mayors later and no new school. Not even close.

I'm no expert on soccer (but am a major fan of all other major sports)... however, if the MLS soccer club can play at the Titans stadium this season, why can't they continue to play there for several seasons while the long ago promised and needed new school is built?

In the time that a new Hillwood/Bellevue High has been talked about and planned without getting built, Rutherford County has built two massive new high schools (Stewarts Creek and Rockvale); Williamson built an equally impressive high school in Nolensville, Wilson County is finishing up the new Green Hill High on the Hermitage side of Mt. Juliet.

Not every resident of Bellevue (or even Westmeade) has 30K$ extra per kid laying around to send them to Ensworth. Metro needs to do their job and finish the new Hillwood High. Or whatever they name it.

[fishsticks176]

Metro is not paying for the stadium. The stadium is a privately funded venture

[WakeMed]

From Fox17's site today...

“Metro’s commitment to $225 million in revenue bonds for the stadium and $25 million of general obligation bonds for stadium-related infrastructure has not changed."

[JMT]

Originally Posted by WakeMed

From Fox17's site today...

“Metro’s commitment to $225 million in revenue bonds for the stadium and $25 million of general obligation bonds for stadium-related infrastructure has not changed."

True. But John Ingram, owner of the Nashville MLS organization, is paying $25 million to Metro up front and $9 million per year for 30 years to help pay for that $225 million bond. The balance is expected to come from the sales tax generated at the stadium and a tax on tickets sold to MLS games. Ingram also agreed to pay the difference if the stadium ends up costing more than $225 million.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...le/2537279002/

[WakeMed]

And the article (or a similar one) stated a revenue shortfall on ticket tax comes out of Metro pockets.

Maybe John Ingram can write a check for the new high school and be paid back over 30 years.

I mean, come on... what do cities need schools for? Soccer is much more important. (sarcasm alert)

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by WakeMed

Building a new replacement Hillwood High was a movement that started in 2014 or sooner. I'm not sure how the soccer stadium which became a "thing" much later got put on a fast track (until recently) while the school is still not built. Construction (other than the land being cleared) has still not started. Megan Berry said the new school was going to be a priority before she was elected and here we are two mayors later and no new school. Not even close.

Mayor Barry's term was cut short, and Mayor Briley completed that term -- so it's a little misleading to say we are two mayors later without any context. And given the turmoil that surrounded Barry's departure and the budget situation that Briley inherited, it's no real surprise that this project did not proceed. In fact, before the last election, Briley proposed pausing the project because he believed that more resources should be diverted to Southeast Nashville because there was a more pressing need (that may have simply been a political play to try to endear him to Southeast Nashville, which has several times the population of the Bellevue/West Meade area).

Soccer had been discussed before, and MLS had announced their intentions to expand in the past -- but I think the speed in which the ownership group (Ingram) and the stadium plan came together did catch a lot of people by surprise.

FWIW, the Capital Improvements Budget for Metro in 2019 has the proposed $85,000,000 for the school. That doesn't tell you when it's getting built....but for government projects, moving at a snail's pace is par for the course. Don't get me started on TDOT.

Originally Posted by WakeMed

I'm no expert on soccer (but am a major fan of all other major sports)... however, if the MLS soccer club can play at the Titans stadium this season, why can't they continue to play there for several seasons while the long ago promised and needed new school is built?

Two main reasons:
1) Nashville securing the bid for a franchise was under the agreement that they would build a soccer-specific stadium during a certain time frame. While a number of MLS teams (especially in much larger markets) play in football stadiums, MLS is making a push to have teams play in soccer-specific stadia. Atlanta and Seattle are able to attract pretty respectable numbers in NFL stadiums...but both cities are a lot larger than Nashville. I don't think MLS wants the optics of 20-30,000 fans in a stadium that seats about 70,000. That's palatable for a little while, but if they allow "several seasons" at Nissan Stadium, what's to say that the city doesn't just abandon the stadium project altogether?

2) The Titans lease. I don't know what the specifics are, but the Titans are obviously going to take priority over the soccer club. Their seasons only overlap for a couple of months, but that could still present problems. Not to mention that TSU plays a couple of home games there.

The NFL sets their schedules in April. MLS already has its full schedule out. There are about 9 weeks of overlap between the two sports based on their schedules. 2 of those are preseason weeks. Nashville SC currently has 4 games scheduled at Nissan Stadium during that stretch....2 of which are in the preseason (which makes sense).

If scheduling starts to become an issue, the Titans could end up putting their foot down, as they are the primary tenant. I don't think that's what would happen -- but it should be noted that the MLS would be the newcomer here -- and would not be on equal footing. I'd say that's a big contributing factor in the MLS wanting soccer-specific stadiums in their new expansion markets.

Originally Posted by WakeMed

In the time that a new Hillwood/Bellevue High has been talked about and planned without getting built, Rutherford County has built two massive new high schools (Stewarts Creek and Rockvale); Williamson built an equally impressive high school in Nolensville, Wilson County is finishing up the new Green Hill High on the Hermitage side of Mt. Juliet.

And? Those districts have exploding school populations (relative to their size) while Davidson County has only recently seen an uptick in student growth. And the differences between the county budgets (and needs) are like comparing apples and chainsaws. There are a whole host of services that Davidson County has to consider that most of the suburban counties don't.

Originally Posted by WakeMed

Not every resident of Bellevue (or even Westmeade) has 30K$ extra per kid laying around to send them to Ensworth. Metro needs to do their job and finish the new Hillwood High. Or whatever they name it.

What's the argument here, exactly? Bellevue, which has not had a high school in....40 years? All of a sudden then have to decide between sending their kid to Ensworth or not do what they've been doing for 40 years and send their kid to Hillwood?



I'm not at all opposed to building a new high school in Bellevue. But your argument is awful and uninformed.

[WakeMed]

If soccer can play at Nissan Stadium for now, they should pay for artificial turf and play there as long as needed. Soccer should not be a life and death priority for Nashville which already has NFL football, NHL hockey, the highest level of MiLB, division-1 NCAA football, four D-1 NCAA basketball teams and the defending national champions of NCAA baseball.

They could also close off the upper bowl and turn it into a 35,000 seat venue as needed. Plus if they are only drawing 20,000 per game, that is proof of how misdirected the emphasis is on this soccer push. I had an "NFL YES!" yard sign back when people were trying to reject getting NFL football here (and I'm not even a Titans fan) because it was common sense that it would be a money maker for the city. Same for NHL. Some people were against the building of the arena and look at the renaissance of lower Broad since then. If they do finish the soccer stadium at the fairgrounds, it will not turn that part of Nolensville Rd. into anything other than what it is right now. As far as residential areas nearby, the gentrification had already started... example:

https://www.doorsteps.com/articles/l...n-neighborhood

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by WakeMed

If soccer can play at Nissan Stadium for now, they should pay for artificial turf and play there as long as needed. Soccer should not be a life and death priority for Nashville which already has NFL football, NHL hockey, the highest level of MiLB, division-1 NCAA football, four D-1 NCAA basketball teams and the defending national champions of NCAA baseball.

They could also close off the upper bowl and turn it into a 35,000 seat venue as needed. Plus if they are only drawing 20,000 per game, that is proof of how misdirected the emphasis is on this soccer push. I had an "NFL YES!" yard sign back when people were trying to reject getting NFL football here (and I'm not even a Titans fan) because it was common sense that it would be a money maker for the city. Same for NHL. Some people were against the building of the arena and look at the renaissance of lower Broad since then. If they do finish the soccer stadium at the fairgrounds, it will not turn that part of Nolensville Rd. into anything other than what it is right now. As far as residential areas nearby, the gentrification had already started... example:

https://www.doorsteps.com/articles/l...n-neighborhood

All of that is moot.

There is a deal on the table, and the sides are ... negotiating.

[WakeMed]

Originally Posted by BirdieBelle

All of that is moot.

There is a deal on the table, and the sides are ... negotiating.

Unlike the desperately needed new school... it will get built within a couple of years.

What's the over/under on the new school not getting built in the next, let's say...five years. If not ten.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by WakeMed

If soccer can play at Nissan Stadium for now, they should pay for artificial turf and play there as long as needed. Soccer should not be a life and death priority for Nashville which already has NFL football, NHL hockey, the highest level of MiLB, division-1 NCAA football, four D-1 NCAA basketball teams and the defending national champions of NCAA baseball.

They could also close off the upper bowl and turn it into a 35,000 seat venue as needed. Plus if they are only drawing 20,000 per game, that is proof of how misdirected the emphasis is on this soccer push. I had an "NFL YES!" yard sign back when people were trying to reject getting NFL football here (and I'm not even a Titans fan) because it was common sense that it would be a money maker for the city. Same for NHL. Some people were against the building of the arena and look at the renaissance of lower Broad since then. If they do finish the soccer stadium at the fairgrounds, it will not turn that part of Nolensville Rd. into anything other than what it is right now. As far as residential areas nearby, the gentrification had already started... example:

https://www.doorsteps.com/articles/l...n-neighborhood

I don't think you comprehend how any of this works.