Very cool. That’s the only way to describe the first week of summer for Nashville sports fans – six remarkable days of fire and ice with NASCAR and the NHL bringing their premier events and thousands of fans to Music City.

NASCAR rolls into Nashville Superspeedway this weekend for its first scheduled Cup Series night race at the 1.3-mile Gladeville track, making the transition to prime time in an effort not only to avoid the summer swelter that overshadowed the first two runnings of the Ally 400 but also to showcase racing under the lights.

“We’re excited to be the ‘fire’ side of that story and we’re happy to be part of what the Nashville scene is,” says Matt Greci, general manager of Nashville Superspeedway and senior VP for Speedway Motorsports. “That’s what makes this attractive for us as an industry being here in Nashville, that there’s so many major events.”

The ‘ice’ part of the booked sports week is the high-profile NHL Awards ceremony followed by the two-day NHL Draft. Both events are inside climate-controlled Bridgestone Arena but in a unique twist, the league will step outdoors to the streets of Nashville for parts of the awards show hosted by country music star Dierks Bentley.

Henry

“What a great weekend. Take what you just laid out and back it up a week and start with CMA Festival. Then you have the race that leads into the NHL Awards and Draft,” says Sean Henry, president and CEO of the Nashville Predators. “And coming out of that, you have Fourth of July in town and then you have the (July 17-20) SEC Media Days, too. So it’s really an amazing month, isn’t it?”

The NHL Draft won’t draw anything close to the 600,000 fans who flooded the city for the 2019 NFL Draft. But the influx of the attendees for the two events this weekend will provide a major boost to Nashville’s economy as it continues the recovery from COVID-19.

And the combined value of hosting these events and the national exposure – international, for the NHL and IndyCar events – is incalculable.

“All of these things are televised, on top of being visitor draws and generating (revenue),” says Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., who is retiring June 30. “It doesn’t get better than that when you can host an event that showcases the city to the world and fills our tax coffers.”

Joe Favorito, a sports marketing professor at Columbia University who has worked with the New York Knicks and other pro teams and leagues as a strategic communication specialist, says Nashville has elevated its game when it comes to hosting world-class events.

“They treat people well and they know how to run big events. There are some cities that don’t do that well. But obviously Nashville is one that does it better than most places these days,” says Favorito, who is involved in next month’s release of The League, a sports documentary about Negro League baseball.

“Treating people right and having the right hotel space and making sure that everybody can be accommodated and the media that can be covered for a diverse audience is really important,” Favorito continues. “That really speaks to the development of what Nashville has done and how it’s become a sports destination, probably beyond anything that people could have thought of even five or 10 years ago.”

NASCAR loves Nashville

There have been numerous changes on and off the track at Nashville Superspeedway since it reopened in 2021 after being shuttered more than a decade. Problems with traffic, heat management and other issues have led officials and broadcast partner NBC to shift the race from day to night this year. Greci took over as track general manager in November after Erik Moses was named the Fiesta Bowl’s executive director.

What has not changed is the belief that Nashville is an integral stop on the NASCAR circuit. Sunday’s Ally 400 will be only the third Cup Series race here since NASCAR abandoned Nashville Fairgrounds after the 1984 season.

“This is NASCAR country, you know what I mean?” says Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams, who will be in the No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro for Saturday afternoon’s Tennessee Lottery 250. “This is where everything happens, right here. You know, this is our demographic. It’s got beautiful racetracks, beautiful scenery. I love coming here, man.”

“This just seems to be a city of events. Anything that’s big happening, it comes to Nashville. And the people always turn up for it, right? They’re always there,” says Craftsman Truck Series star Ben Rhodes, who will drive the No. 99 truck in Friday night’s Rackley Roofing 200.

“It’s a great way to get ourselves in front of not only our base fans that Josh was talking about, but also maybe some new people that haven’t been introduced to it yet that could be from out of town (and) looking for something to do for a big party. Of course, NASCAR’s a natural fit for that. Racing is incredibly fun.”

Chris Buescher, who will pilot the No. 17 Ford Mustang in Sunday’s top-tier Ally 400, says the love they feel for Nashville is returned by fans.

“It’s been well supported by our fans, by the industry. And that’s really the main thing you’re looking for. On top of that, putting on some good races. I mean, it’s doing the things that we need it to do to continue to draw people in. As long as we’re able to do that, I think it’s a no-brainer to keep on coming back,” Buescher says.

Greci says data shows the weeklong economic impact for the NASCAR event is “over $200 million” for the region. “That’s important for local restaurants, local businesses, hotels, air traffic, all of that,” he says, projecting a near-sellout for Sunday’s race.

“A lot of our attendees stay downtown in Nashville. Also, a lot stay in Wilson County, more local to the track. A lot of our partners do events and opportunities down (on) Broadway. I know Ally is doing a party down there on Saturday evening and there’s a lot more that the industry does there.”

NHL events an ice touch

Having the NHL Awards and Draft in the same city has only been done once before, when Vancouver hosted the 2006 NHL Awards at The Centre for Performing Arts and two days later, the NHL Draft was held at General Motors Place.

Connor Bedard, 17, considered one of the best hockey prospects of his generation, is expected to be selected first in the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks next week in Nashville.

-- Photo By Abbie Parr | Ap

“But it’s never been at the same venue in the same year (like Bridgestone Arena),” Predators exec Henry points out. “We can do that because the league believes in what we do. The city and then, obviously, everyone around us brings it to life. We’re going to be on the international stage for the whole week that last week in June and that’s pretty exciting.”

Steve Mayer, the chief content officer and executive producer for NHL Awards and NHL Draft, says after Nashville was awarded the draft, it seemed like a good idea to tie the events together because of Nashville’s growing reputation for staging major events.

“When we started planning the draft, we realized, ‘Now, wouldn’t it be special if we ended up doing both Awards and Draft?’” Mayer says. “So that’s where the conversations went and that’s where we ended up.

“One of the goals is to make sure that when a fan walks in on Monday to Awards and walks in on Wednesday to Draft, they feel like they’re at two very different events. It’s incredible that we are bringing our entire NHL family to Nashville, that we’re going to celebrate hockey and doing it in such a great city that does events as well as anybody.”

In announcing the Nashville doubleheader in August, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman praised the Preds and city leaders.

“The Predators always raise their hand whenever a League event is up for bid and always say yes when the NHL calls,” Bettman said. “Then, every time they are selected to play hosts, they execute at a level and welcome the hockey community in a way that makes us want to return as soon as possible.”

While the full economic impact is undetermined, Mayer assures it will be enormous.

“All 32 teams send quite a contingent to Nashville, mostly for the draft – their scouts, their general managers, their team presidents, their owners. They are coming in early and they’re going to experience not only the Draft but the Awards,” Mayer says. “So the impact for four days, five days on Nashville is quite dramatic.

“Everyone’s looking forward to eating at some of the finer restaurants and taking in shows and doing things not only on the day of the event but the days off. The hotels will be packed. Nashville is such an incredible city when it comes to great events and we are bringing quite the contingent from not only Nashville but all over the NHL to this great city and we believe that we will make a significant impact on the economy.”

Henry also points out “that tangible economic impact that you obviously see. Every hotel being full. And try to get a dinner reservation anywhere from Sunday to Friday of that week. You just can’t.

“You have 32 teams that are in town that are each doing these blowout dinners every single night. I know for ourselves, we booked our own (reservations) before we announced we were doing this, where we’re going to do certain things with our scouts and their wives and you know what we’re going to put on.

“But the legacy of these events are even bigger than tangible economic impact that day, that week, that month,” Henry says. “There are families that are going to be watching this throughout Europe, throughout the world, saying, ‘oh my gosh, we’ve got to get there.’”

More than sports

While Bridgestone Arena is the focal point of the NHL Draft and Awards, what’s happening outside the venue is just as important to the overall success. There will be free concerts, a VIP section and fan area for season-ticket holders. Both current and former players will be on hand for meet-and-greets, including former Preds goalie Pekka Rinne.

“We’re shutting down Broadway and Fifth Avenue. We’ll have the stage built right in the middle of Broadway,” Henry says excitedly. “We have to show the world what Music City is all about. The Awards show will cut inside and outside …a combination of, obviously, inside, but then some more awards will be handed out probably on the stage outside, too.”

While Bentley, the awards show’s host, is an Arizona native, he’s adopted hockey as he and his family’s sports obsession.

“Hockey plays a big part of my daily life,” Bentley says. “I’ve been to rinks all over the country with my travel hockey son. I coach his spring league games and spend hours in the local hockey store, telling him, ‘No, you do not need a new stick!’

“We love watching YouTube highlight reels, the whole family loves going to Nashville Predators games and watching the Stanley Cup Final together,” he continues. “And I am a proud member of a beer league team here in Nashville. To get to add NHL Awards host to this list is truly an honor.”

Mayer says the NHL wants to take full advantage of Nashville’s music chops with Bentley as the Awards host.

“We’re really going to lean into Nashville and the country music scene,” Mayer says. “Music and celebrity are going to be a part of the entire three-day experience.”

The same musically inclined sentiment holds true at Nashville Superspeedway with concerts, fireworks and family-oriented events. Parker McCollum is the featured entertainer for Sunday’s prerace concert, the band Old Dominion will serve as grand marshal and Nashville comedian Nate Bargatze will drive the pace car.

“The Ally 400 race week is one of NASCAR’s brightest stages,” Greci notes.

Something else that’s unique to these bookend events is the Nashville fan base. Country music, the Predators and auto racing fans share similar passions. It’s like serving up a platterful of fried chicken, barbecue chicken and Nashville Hot Chicken. They’re all great and nobody’s leaving hungry – only wanting more.

“I really do believe that Nashville has become a sports heaven. For leagues like the NHL, it’s just an incredible place to put on a special event,” Mayer says. “It says so much about the city, that sports and Nashville have become synonymous – whether it’s a NASCAR event, a football game, a soccer event now or hockey – Nashville has become big-time when it comes to sports.

“We really feel at the NHL like we’ve been a big part of Nashville’s emergence on the sports scene, and we’re hoping that these two events, the NHL Awards and the NHL Draft, just add to the growing interest in this area for sports.”