Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena collectively need $477 million in improvements over the next 20 years to extend the life of both Metro-owned facilities, city consultants say.

Projected costs, which cover everything from architectural improvements to better technology and plumbing, are outlined in new condition assessments commissioned by Metro.

The voluminous reports, released on Thursday, come as the franchise lease agreements at Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena, both built in the 1990s, expire in 2028.

Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, will begin its 19th year of play this year after opening in 1999. The stadium is in need of $293.2 million in capital improvements over the next 20 years, according to a report from Brentwood-based Venue Solutions Group that was initiated by Mayor Megan Barry's administration.

The same consulting firm says Bridgestone Arena, which opened in 1996 and became home of the NHL's Nashville Predators two years later, faces capital needs totaling $183.4 million over that same time period.

Barry administration says goal is to limit burden on taxpayer

The Metro Sports Authority tapped the consultants in September to conduct a review of the facilities amid a rising number of repairs and upgrades at Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena as they have aged.

The mayor's office says the next step will be to create "action plans" for both facilities. Metro officials aren't ready to say how the city and the sports franchises might pay for the upgrades, which would range between $8 million and $12 million per year for each facility under the recommendations.

"We've got to sit down with all the involved parties and come up with a plan just to determine exactly how we fund this," Metro Sports Authority Director Monica Fawknotson said. "And it's going to take some time."

Metro Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling, a top aide to Barry, said the reports provide a "baseline of information" on improvements needed down the road.

"They're clearly big numbers that are going to need funds," he said. "Our goal will be to limit the amount the taxpayers have to be burdened with this."

Read more:

► Metro to study condition, future costs of Nissan Stadium, Bridgestone Arena

► Predators explore dramatic overhaul of Bridgestone Arena

► Metro may double city’s subsidy to Titans for Nissan Stadium upkeep

In recent years, Metro has tacked on user fees onto admissions at Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena to pay off debt for upgrades that have included complete seat replacements at both venues.

Recommended new improvements, which were unveiled at Thursday's sports authority meeting, are based on "best practices" in similarly sized venues and would be phased in over the next two decades. Across both stadiums, around 40 percent of looming costs involve technology expenses such as IT systems and scoreboard and video displays.

Titans, Predators say they are pleased with their homes

"Despite its length and despite the numbers, we still think that Nissan Stadium is a great place to play a football game, which is what it was built for," Titans CEO Steve Underwood said of the stadium assessment. "We're very proud to call it home and intend to continue calling it our home for much of the future.

"To this point, we haven't drawn any conclusions about the amounts and the work described in the assessment."

Predators CEO Sean Henry pointed to a separate architecture study the team conducted last year that explored new concepts for Bridgestone Arena, such as an on-site hotel, an office tower, a secondary ice rink, an expanded concourse and a slate of upgrades to improve the interactive fan experience for millennials.

He said the team now plans to combine the two reports as it explores the future of the arena.

"The real key isn't just to keep Bridgestone Arena where it was designed in 1996 rolling ahead for 40 years instead of 30. It's to take where we are today, and the good things we're doing, and be in the same exact address 50 years from now.

"This is where we should always be," he said of the high-profile corner of Lower Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

Under lease agreements with the Titans and Predators, Metro is obligated to pay for the upkeep of the venues. Much of the infrastructure in both venues has a 20-year lifespan, meaning needs are poised to pile up.

Riebeling said the city has not started negotiations with either the Titans or Predators about extending their stadium leases.

Henry said he wants the Predators to begin talks about a lease extension in the next six to 12 months. The Titans have been less clear about their plans.

"I think the Predators are probably further along in their internal thought process as to whether they want to talk about extending the lease, but there's not been any negotiations or any conversations at this point," Riebeling said.

Nevertheless, Riebeling said the Titans have not indicated they want to leave Nissan Stadium.

"They've not given any indication of any desire for a new stadium," he said, adding that the goal right now is to address improvements to the stadium before discussing a possible extension. "We're not at that point yet."

Nissan Stadium's architecture hurt by 'cost cutting'

The report divided capital needs into three areas: operations and procedures; maintenance; and forecasted capital improvements.

"These are big, complicated, expensive facilities," said Larry Atema of Commonwealth Development Group, a contractor for Metro that worked with the consultants. "We just looked at everything from technology, food service, elevators, escalators, architectural features, waterproofing and roofs, and just said, 'This stuff is going to wear out over time. When is that time likely to be?' "

At Nissan Stadium, which cost $290 million to build in the late 1990s, the report identified several issues with the main video boards even though they were updated five years ago. The stadium's broadcasting cabling system is in poor condition, according to consultants, and the stadium has insufficient camera locations for national broadcasts.

Architecturally, the assessment characterizes Nissan Stadium as uninspiring, the result of "cost cutting in design and construction" when it was built.

Lighting throughout the stadium has largely gone unchanged, the report says, as has most of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The report says the main and upper concourses appear unfinished because of exposed unpainted concrete.

Bridgestone Arena in very good condition, consultants say

Bridgestone Arena, which cost $144 million to build, receives considerably more frequent use than Nissan Stadium and is near the midpoint of what is usually considered the useful life of an arena, according to consultants.

The report says that in terms of architecture, the building is in "very good condition generally, and shows evidence of being well maintained during its lifetime."

Still, the assessment says the arena's video displays and video production equipment were last updated in 2008 and are now outdated. The arena's sound system still relies heavily on aging analogy control and connections.

The assessment also says the arena's piping is showing signs of corrosion, rust, pitting and scaling, and as a result should be considered for a complete replacement over the next five to seven years.

Metro to increase annual subsidy to Titans

Metro is still paying off debt that was accrued to build Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena, but it is scheduled to be retired within a decade.

In the NFL, the cost of new stadiums in recent years has ballooned to more than $1 billion. Minnesota's U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened last year, cost $1.13 billion. The former St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers have moved to Los Angeles in recent years, where they will play in a $2.66 billion stadium set to open in 2019. The Oakland Raiders plan to move to a new stadium in Las Vegas.

Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena have already racked up additional costs for Metro even before the $477 million in recommended future expenditures.

In her upcoming budget, Barry has proposed increasing Metro's annual subsidy, which goes toward annual capital needs, to the Titans from $1 million to $1.5 million. Ahead of last year's NFL season, Metro spent $15 million to replace seats inside Nissan Stadium and has pumped millions more to cover a range of other expenditures.

Bridgestone Arena also has undergone a seat replacement in recent years. Other upgrades have included new LED lighting and bathroom renovations. That followed a face-lift to create a new south-facing entrance, a pub, a team store and large outdoor television screens and a news banner.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.