i don't want to buy a new titans stadium

I'm planning to share a similar version of this during Metro Council's pre-budget public comment period tonight, if I'm able to get off the waitlist.

I'm a middle school math teacher and the son of an accounting professor and an auditor, so budget season is actually a really fun time for me. I spend hours each month keeping track of where my money is coming from and going, and I love digging into data and seeing how the numbers for my city add up — or don't.

As we enter this year's budget season, one idea that's been popping around in the news is that the Titans need a new stadium. But as a resident of Nashville and recent property owner in Nashville, I don't want to buy the Titans a new stadium. I think they can buy their own stadium.

Before digging into the financial implications of this, I do need to take a moment and say that the Titans really don't need a new stadium. The Titans had one of the best seasons I can remember this year, so the stadium isn't holding them back from competitive success. And the stadium seems more than suitable for the endless stream of concerts, festivals, and other events. Most recently, Nissan Stadium was host to an NHL Stadium Series game, and there didn't seem to be any complaints about how terrible the venue was for that event either.

While this year's budget doesn't include a $2 billion line item, budget season leads to loads of misleading statistics and data points, many of which come from the Mayor's own Office of Performance Management. Now sometimes it's just graphs that show a clear opposite trend of the one the mayor claims, but some of these data points are actually helpful. One data point that stuck out to me was the number $18.43. That's the average annual cost per bus rider in FY 2021, which ran July 1, 2020, – June 30, 2021. After finding this number, I wondered how much the city of Nashville would be spending per fan to construct a new Titans stadium.

So let's do some math. Of course, we don't have any specific numbers, so let me first outline the assumptions and data points I'm using:

• $2 billion is the expected cost for a new stadium, according to a presentation at the Sports Authority Board Meeting on March 10.
• A stadium lease like this typically runs 30 years. That's the term of the previous Titans lease and the recent leases for the Nashville Sounds (First Horizon Park) and Nashville SC (Geodis Park).
• 1.2 million fans attended events at Nissan Stadium last year, according to a tweet from Withers about that same meeting.

Take the $2,000,000,000 divided by the 30 year term of the lease, and you get about $66 million, or $66,666,666.67 to be exact.

Take that amount and divide it by the 1.2 million people who attended events, and you are left with $55.56.

So as a city, we are spending $18.43 per passenger on public transit, but are considering spending $55.56 per attendee at a future Titans stadium.

But let's dig a little further into where this money comes from and where this money goes. Proponents of projects like this often argue that the development will pay for itself with the huge increase in sales tax revenue. But according to a Metro Council budget information meeting earlier this year, the local option sales tax only accounts for 14% of revenue. When you pay sales tax (9.25% in Nashville), that vast majority of that actually goes to the state of Tennessee. The state gets 7% and Nashville gets the remaining 2.25%. That a split of 75% to the state and 25% to Nashville. So where is the state's $1.5 billion contribution towards a new Titans stadium?

As shown in the chart above, 59% of revenue comes from property taxes. Property taxes are only paid by those who own property in Davidson County. So people like Titans CEO Burke Nihill, who owns millions of dollars in Williamson County real estate, aren't going to be contributing to that $55.56 per attendee. I don't have data to show this, but I'd imagine many — even a majority — of individuals attending games and other events at Nissan stadium don't live in Davidson County.

So when we look at a $55.56 subsidy per attendee, much of that money is coming from revenue collected from Nashville taxpayers and going to residents of the surrounding counties and tourists. If they're such fans, why can't their property taxes go to fund this stadium?

When we look at the $18.43 subsidy per passenger on public transit each year, that vast majority of that is likely going to Nashville residents. Again, I don't have hard data on this, but I have yet to see a travel guide called "The hidden gem of Nashville: WeGo Buses." No one's shouting from the rooftops about how convenient the #18 airport route is, with it's curbside drop off hidden in the back of a parking garage even further than you have to walk for an Uber or Lyft.

Ultimately this goes back to our priorities as a city, and who our city services should serve. Should our city revenue be used to help make life better for our citizens? Or should it be used to create a destination for tourists, even those from just one county away?

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Disclaimer: While I am an employee of Metro Nashville Public Schools, and therefore Metro Nashville Government, the views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer or the city.