NASHVILLE, Tenn. – While the NFL will have the ultimate say in how Nashville lays out the draft and surrounding events, the city would like Roger Goodell and those announcing picks would do so from the stage at Ascend Amphitheater.
“Our pitch, my preference is Ascend Amphitheater,” Butch Spyridon, CEO of the city’s convention and visitors bureau. "It’s the money shot for the city – a music venue with the skyline behind you.”
Photo courtesy of Live Nation, The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp
But to make it work in that setting, it will likely have to expand. The size of the venue “seems to be the only real issue” the NFL has with the idea, he said.
Two years ago in Philadelphia, there were only 2,000 seats and it was not an issue. But the scope was way bigger at AT&T Stadium in Dallas which has changed things some.
The venue fits 6,800, with 2,300 in fixed seats and room for 4,500 on the lawn.
As of now, the tables with team representative who hand in a draft pick’s name would be outside Ascend, possibly on lower Broadway which could also have giant screens broadcasting the draft from a concert stage. Those tables were not near the podium at the drafts in Chicago or Philadelphia.
To make additional room at the amphitheater, the city could close a lane of the Korean Veterans Bridge Bridge behind the venue, pushing things back.
Spyridon also said the city could also potentially build out some boxes.
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