Axios Nashville

May 20, 2026
Good morning! Who's ready for the Super Bowl?
🌧️ Today's weather: Chance of showers and thunderstorms then showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 83 and a low of 64.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Nashville member Ann Marie Owens!
This newsletter is 994 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Super Bowl coming to Music City in 2030
The Super Bowl, the football-fueled pop culture phenomenon without equals, is coming to Nashville in 2030.
- NFL owners voted unanimously to award the game to Nashville at their meeting in Orlando yesterday.
Why it matters: Nashville has gradually climbed the tourism ladder over the last decade-plus, expanding from a country music town to an international tourist destination.
- Hosting the Super Bowl will be a crowning achievement for the city's hospitality industry.
What they're saying: "Nashville has been building toward a major global opportunity like this for years through strategic investments, strong community partnerships, and a proven ability to host world-class events, and we are ready for this moment," Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. president and CEO Deana Ivey said in a statement.
- "This is an exciting moment for our city and our entire state. We cannot wait for our community to experience an event of this magnitude and for the world to see the energy, hospitality, and culture that make our city so special on a global stage," Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said.
Zoom out: The Titans' new, $2.2 billion stadium was a selling point for bringing the major sporting event to the city for the first time.
- When the Titans and political leaders from the city and state pursued a new stadium, they highlighted the possibility of hosting the Super Bowl.
- In order to host more events than the current outdoor Nissan Stadium, the decision was made to construct a roof for the new facility.
Between the lines: The new Nissan Stadium will anchor a revitalized East Bank, though that ambitious redevelopment project will still be ongoing when the big game comes to town in four years.
- "We're looking forward to showing the world an East Bank with a century of affordable housing and great infrastructure and green space as they watch the biggest event in sports," Mayor Freddie O'Connell said.
Friction point: The influx of visitors and media can create a headache for residents in terms of traffic and other daily interruptions.
- O'Connell promised "we're going to work hard to ensure our local residents and businesses benefit as much as possible from being on the world's biggest stage."
Flashback: Hosting the Super Bowl wasn't even an option for Nashville until its tourism explosion in the 2010s, which was fueled by the rising popularity of country music combined with the elevation of the city's culinary scene.
- Hotels have invested heavily in Nashville. The region currently boasts 60,933 hotel rooms with thousands more on the horizon.
What's next: Nashville leaders want to put on a uniquely Nashville party that convinces NFL executives to regularly bring the game back to Music City.
If you go: The Convention and Visitors Corp. and the Titans are hosting a free Super Bowl community celebration on tonight at 7:30pm on Lower Broad.
2. Tennesseans report economic angst
Economic anxiety is widespread among Tennesseans of all political stripes and income levels, according to a new poll released today by Vanderbilt University.
Why it matters: Registered voters reported serious concerns over the rising cost of basic necessities such as groceries and gas. They are urging public officials to address the growing crisis, a dynamic that is already shaping the midterm elections.
By the numbers: Half of the respondents describe the cost of living as "very expensive," up 7 percentage points since last year. Another 38% call it "somewhat expensive."
- The combined 88% represents voters from different income levels.
- 49% said they were anxious about simply affording food, housing and transportation.
The big picture: That angst is contributing to pessimism here and nationally: 58% of Tennesseans believe the country is on the wrong track, per the poll.
- They were nearly evenly split on Tennessee's trajectory, with 49% saying the state was going in the wrong direction.
Zoom in: President Trump's approval rating, which is typically high in ruby-red Tennessee, fell to 49% among the state's voters. That's a 7-point drop since November.
- Support for state leaders was more sturdy, with outgoing Gov. Bill Lee sitting at 56% approval and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn at 51%.
How it works: The poll surveyed 1,203 registered Tennessee voters from April 13-29. The survey's margin of error was +/-3.2 percentage points.
3. The Setlist: Nashville rejects policing tech
👁️ Nashville isn't deploying the surveillance technology that is widely used in peer cities across the South and Midwest. (Tennessean)
⚖️ Three federal court challenges to Tennessee's recent redistricting were consolidated into one case. (Tennessee Lookout)
💉 Vanderbilt's vaccine center has developed the antibodies to make a hantavirus vaccine. (Nashville Business Journal, subscription)
4. Imo's expands to Nashville
Imo's, the St. Louis-style pizza chain known for its unique Provel cheese, plans to open a Nashville location next year.
State of play: St. Louis-style pizza, known for its thin crust and square slices, is a divisive topic among pizza lovers.
- The location of the Nashville restaurant is still being finalized.
Friction point: The brand has a cult following, but also spurs very heated arguments over its unique approach to a pizza pie.
- Provel cheese is a conglomeration of cheddar, Swiss and provolone. Imo's features a yeast-free cracker-thin crust. The sauce is ultra sweet.
👍 Nate's take: I love Imo's nearly as much as I love the Cubs. I frequently stop there, or at a local joint, when passing through St. Louis.
👎 Adam's take: I sampled Imo's while I went to school at Saint Louis University, and I was not a fan. It tasted like funky gravy on a cracker.
- But I'm willing to try again when it opens here.
Our picks:
Nate was one of thousands of Nashville fans who didn't get tickets yesterday to see Angine de Poitrine.
Adam is doing a rewatch of the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" with a friend.
This newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.
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