Garth Brooks supports building new stadium

Country megastar Garth Brooks weighed in on Nashville's stadium debate this week. As first reported by the Tennessean, he wrote a letter to Metro Council saying an enclosed stadium was "a must" in a city "known for entertaining."

What he's saying: In the letter, shared with council members by Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. CEO Butch Spyridon, Brooks said enclosed stadiums were "revenue generating machines because they can be kept busy 365 days a year."

• "Nashville is the nation’s favorite city, right now, and it deserves to have a domed stadium for its residents and its visitors."

Flashback: Brooks was forced to cancel a Nissan Stadium show in 2021 because of bad weather. More than 70,000 tickets had been sold for the show.

• "The amount of revenue lost during that storm on top of what it cost to present the make-up show resulted in heavy losses for not just me, but also for the stadium and the city," Brooks wrote.
• Proponents of a new stadium have stressed that it would allow for events to go on despite weather conditions.

"A domed stadium would also separate Nashville from competing cities for all major events," Brooks said.

Yes, but: Council is still vetting the proposal. Skeptics on the council have criticized the $2.1 billion price tag for the project and have pushed to learn more about the cost of making renovations to the existing Nissan Stadium instead.

• Venue Solutions Group concluded a renovation proposal from the Titans would cost $1.87 billion through 2039. But council members said they wanted to know the least the city could spend on upgrades needed under the Nissan lease.

Zoom out: Brooks has shown interest in other city business recently.

Under a plan announced earlier this year, Brooks agreed to cover the costs to develop a police substation and a traffic control room alongside his upcoming Lower Broadway honky-tonk.