Bridgestone Arena

Lore & Background

Designed by HOK Sport (now Populous) in conjunction with Hart Freeland Roberts, INC., the arena was built at an angle on the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue in physical homage to the historic Ryman Auditorium. It is owned by the Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County and operated by Powers Management Company, a subsidiary of the Nashville Predators franchise, which has been its primary tenant since 1998. The seating configuration is notable for the oddly-shaped south end, which features two large round roof support columns, no mid-level seating, and only one level of suites, bringing the upper-level seats much closer to the floor. The arena can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater for theater concerts and Broadway shows.

Reader's Guide

Bridgestone Arena has hosted numerous significant events beyond Predators hockey. The Predators hosted the NHL entry draft here in 2003 and 2023, and the arena was the location for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. It has been the venue for the Country Music Association Awards annually since 2006, after the awards show moved from the Grand Ole Opry House. The arena has hosted college basketball events including SEC men's and women's tournaments, the 2014 NCAA Women's Final Four, and NCAA men's tournament rounds. It has held UFC events beginning with UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann in 2009, and most recently hosted UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Teixeira on July 12, 2025. The arena also hosted the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals Games 3, 4, and 6. In 2017 it was named the loudest arena in sports.

Did You Know?

• Nate Bargatze set the attendance record on April 15, 2023, with 19,365 fans.
• The arena was originally named Nashville Arena, then Gaylord Entertainment Center, then Sommet Center, before becoming Bridgestone Arena.
• It hosted a Southern Professional Hockey League preseason game between the Knoxville Ice Bears and Huntsville Havoc during the 2012–13 NHL lockout.
• The arena has hosted the Professional Bull Riders Premier Series event every year from 2002 through 2019 (except 2005 and 2006) and again in 2021.

Architecture & Ownership Structure

The arena's physical footprint is as much a statement of Nashville identity as a functional space. HOK Sport—now operating under the Populous name—collaborated with the local firm Hart Freeland Roberts to create a structure set at a deliberate angle where Broadway meets 5th Avenue. That angled orientation was a conscious architectural nod to the Ryman Auditorium, the legendary original home of the Grand Ole Opry, embedding the venue's DNA in the city's musical heritage from the moment it was completed in 1996. Ownership rests with the Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County, while day-to-day operations are handled by Powers Management Company, a subsidiary of the Nashville Predators franchise that has called the building its primary home since 1998. The south end of the seating bowl presents a distinctive challenge: two massive round roof-support columns, the absence of a mid-level tier, and a single row of suites all compress the upper deck noticeably closer to the playing surface. Beyond the main bowl, the facility offers roughly 43,000 square feet of flexible trade-show space and can be reconfigured into the intimate 5,145-seat Music City Theater by staging the north end and draping curtains to hide the upper deck.

Hockey & Multi-Sport Heritage

Since the Nashville Predators took residence in 1998, the building has become one of the NHL's most storied venues. It hosted the league's entry draft in both 2003 and 2023, welcomed the 61st All-Star Game in January 2016, and served as the stage for three games of the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. Even during the 2012–13 lockout, when the Predators sat out the season until mid-January, the arena kept the city's hockey fever alive by staging a Southern Professional Hockey League preseason matchup between the Knoxville Ice Bears and the Huntsville Havoc. Hockey is far from the only sport that has filled these seats. The Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League called the building home in two stints—1997 through 2001 and again from 2005 to 2007. College basketball has been a mainstay: the SEC men's tournament has been held here nine times between 2015 and 2025 under a long-term deal signed in 2013, and the 2014 NCAA Women's Final Four drew national attention. The Professional Bull Riders have returned nearly every year since 2002, and since 2025 the PRCA-sanctioned Music City Rodeo has added a three-day summer tradition pairing rodeo competition with headline country concerts.

Music, Combat Sports & Entertainment

Because the arena sits within walking distance of Music Row, it has naturally become Nashville's premier large-scale entertainment venue. The Country Music Association Awards have been staged here every year since 2006, after the ceremony left the Grand Ole Opry House and spent a single interlude at Madison Square Garden. CMT Music Awards occupied the floor in multiple runs spanning the 2000s and 2010s. Concert attendance records keep getting broken: Morgan Wallen drew 19,292 fans in early 2023, only for Nate Bargatze to surpass that mark six weeks later with 19,365 on April 15. Kacey Musgraves set the benchmark for a headlining female act at 18,373 during her Oh, What a World tour. The venue has also become a recurring stop on the UFC circuit, hosting Fight Night and on-FX cards in 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, and most recently in July 2025. WWE brought both Judgment Day in 2002 and Smackville in 2019 to the floor. For more intimate productions, the space can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater, accommodating Broadway-style shows and family entertainment.

Evolution, Naming & Industry Recognition

The building has worn four different names over nearly three decades, reflecting the shifting corporate landscape of Nashville sports. It opened in 1996 as Nashville Arena, later became Gaylord Entertainment Center, then Sommet Center, before settling on the Bridgestone name that carries it today. One of the most visible upgrades came in the summer of 2007, when a $5 million scoreboard and digital control room replaced the aging octagonal display that had hung above the floor since the mid-1990s. That outdated scoreboard was actually cited as a factor in the venue being dropped from the NCAA men's tournament rotation for several years during its first decade; the tournament returned in 2012. The arena's standing in the live-event industry has been consistently acknowledged: it was first nominated for the Pollstar Concert Industry Venue of the Year Award in 1998, and earned its fourth such nomination in 2007. The CMA Awards' 2020 edition was relocated to the nearby Music City Center due to pandemic restrictions, but the ceremony returned to Bridgestone Arena the following year, reaffirming its role as the beating heart of Nashville's music-industry calendar.

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