State plan would send convention hall money to East Bank, Super Bowl recruitment
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
New details emerged Tuesday about state House Speaker Cameron Sexton's plan to redirect tax money dedicated to the Music City Center to pay for East Bank construction and recruitment of major events like the Super Bowl
Why it matters: Sexton's plan would ease a major burden on the city budget while positioning Nashville to also host events like the NCAA Final Four and Wrestlemania.
Friction point: Nashville essentially has an unfunded mandate on the East Bank — the city must pay for projects like the ambitious new north-south boulevard running through the center of the neighborhood and another new road connecting to the Oracle campus.
- Sexton first told the Nashville Business Journal last week his plan would fund those projects with the sales tax dollars from the convention hall's tourism development zone.
The big picture: If the plan works as intended, it would free up Metro money that would have otherwise gone to East Bank for use on other citywide priorities like new schools, fire halls and sidewalks.
Flashback: In order to finance the Music City Center in 2010, Metro partnered with the state to create a tourism development zone (TDZ) that includes much of the downtown entertainment district.
- The TDZ allows the state to capture some $100 million in annual sales tax revenue within the zone and send the money to help pay for Music City Center's debt.
Yes, but: Those tax collections have come in way higher than the obligations necessary to pay the debt, creating a growing surplus of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Driving the news: Sexton's new plan, which he rolled out in state legislation, would keep the TDZ operating, but with new rules for how the money could be spent.
By the numbers: The plan would send $300 million in tax collections to the East Bank Development Authority to pay for the new boulevard and other projects.
- Another $30 million annually would go toward recruiting tourism events like the Super Bowl. (The legislation would create a new tourism board to work with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. on how to spend the event marketing money.)
- An annual $21 million grant would go to Metro for public safety.
Zoom out: The plan would also divert some funding for the future expansion of the convention hall.
Between the lines: Sexton is a board member for the East Bank Development Authority, which is overseeing the area's redevelopment.
What they're saying: East Bank Development Authority CEO Ben York said in a statement that Sexton's plan "will allow us to move forward with critical transportation and connectivity projects — while making sure that downtown business operators are supported and local taxpayers are protected."
- A spokesperson for Mayor Freddie O'Connell tells Axios the administration is "glad taxes collected within the tourism development zone will stay in Nashville" to fund local projects.