The Tennessee Titans are opening Titans House, the new Nissan Stadium experience center, for a limited number of appointments in May and will fully open to PSL holders and new Nissan Stadium waitlist members this summer.

The appointment-only center, built by Brentwood-based Polk & Associates and assisted in design by Elevate, offers an immersive experience to learn about membership and seating options available in the new stadium.

Sales for the new building will occur in a three-wave process. Premier seat memberships, consisting of premium seating opportunities, will make up the first wave beginning this summer. Reserved seat memberships, which account for approximately 90% of seating options, are expected to go on sale in two waves beginning in 2025. All seat memberships entitle purchasers to secure specific seats in the new building for 30 years.

Current PSL holders will be contacted for appointments in Titans House on a rolling basis between 2024 and 2026. The order will be determined by priority status, including current stadium seat location, to ensure that fans can be shown comparable locations in the new stadium when those areas go on sale.

New Nissan Stadium waitlist members will also be contacted during that timeframe when the product in which they expressed interest goes on sale.

All seat memberships allow purchasers to make payments over time, and members will receive a 10% discount if they pay in full at the time of sale.

The new Nissan Stadium is scheduled to open in 2027.

Compass acquires Parks Real Estate

Compass, Inc., the largest residential real estate brokerage in the United States by sales volume, has acquired Parks Real Estate, Tennessee’s No. 1 residential real estate firm by sales volume with more than 1,500 agents.

The combination of Compass and Parks agents now represents one of four homes sold in Tennessee. With this addition, Compass strengthens its position in Nashville and enhances its presence in the Southeastern U.S.

Parks Real Estate brings a wealth of local expertise and inventory. Aligning with Compass will enable its agents to gain access to the industry’s leading technology platform and an expansive national referral network.

“With the continued migration of the U.S. population moving to the South, and 16% of Compass transactions last year being referrals, our expansion in the Southeast allows for more connections and opportunities for our agents as our national network grows,” says Compass CEO and founder Robert Reffkin.

Parks, the market leader in Tennessee, adds $6.25 billion in 2023 transaction volume to Compass’ nation-leading $186.1 billion in 2023 transaction volume.

Parthenon to return 248 artifacts to Mexico

The Parthenon and Metro Parks and Recreation have announced that 248 pre-Columbian artifacts from the Parthenon’s permanent collection will be deaccessioned and repatriated to Western Mexico.

The decision comes as result of an ordinance change passed by the Metro Council May 7 to legally entitle the Parthenon and Metro Parks to remove the pre-Columbian artifacts from its collection and return them to their country of origin.

Parthenon staff approached Metro Legal for help in rewriting the ordinance, which was presented to council early this year for review.

“This has been a great example of Metro departments collaborating with Council on a common goal,” said Parthenon director Lauren Bufferd. “Repatriation is a complex legal and ethical issue that museums around the world are facing, and we are so grateful to have the support of the Metro Council and the Mayor’s Office in our efforts to return these artifacts to their rightful place of origin. We could not be happier with the outcome.”

The pre-Columbian artifacts, which were donated to the Parthenon in the 1960s and 1970s, originated from the Western Mexican region and include small adornments, zoomorphic images, ceramic pots, musical instruments and hand tools.

In consultation with the General Consulate of Mexico in Atlanta, Georgia, the pieces will be delivered to the Institute of Anthropology and History Museum in Mexico City this summer. Their mission is to research, preserve, protect, and promote the ancient heritage of Mexico.

New children’s mental health crisis units set

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has announced community mental health centers that are receiving grant contracts to open two new Crisis Stabilization Units and Walk-In Centers for Children.

TDMHSAS will work with Mental Health Cooperative in Nashville and Alliance Healthcare Services in Memphis to open these new options for families with children in crisis.

Crisis Stabilization Units offer intensive, short-term stabilization for someone experiencing a mental health emergency. Crisis Walk-In Centers offer face-to-face, 24/7/365 evaluation for those who are experiencing a mental health emergency. Both of these services are available free of charge regardless of insurance coverage.

The General Assembly budgeted $5 million in new state funding for the creation of these centers. Knoxville is home to the state’s first CSU/WIC for children operated by the McNabb Center and funded with a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and state infrastructure dollars.

Williams, WTVF nab Peabody award

WTVF-NewsChannel 5 has won a Peabody Award for its 2023 investigation that exposed Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson’s white supremacist ties and other questions about her background during last fall’s elections.

In a series of more 20 reports, WTVF chief investigative reporter Phil Williams and the NewsChannel 5 Investigates team probed Hanson’s ties to white supremacists, her arrest history for promoting prostitution and her social media photo of a group of women she claimed to be her supporters but who later denied that claim and denounced her, among other inconsistencies and unusual revelations.

This is Williams’ fourth Peabody Award and the third for WTVF.

Tennessee gas prices fall eight cents

Tennesseans saw another break at the pump this week, with the state gas price average dropping eight cents compared to the previous week. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $3.23, six cents less than one month ago but seven cents more than one year ago. The national average is $3.61.

More than 783,000 Tennesseans are expected to travel by car to their holiday destinations, which is the second highest travel volume since 2005, AAA reports.

During last year’s holiday weekend, Tennessee gas prices averaged $3.19 per gallon.

Redfin: Second home mortgages down 40%

U.S. homebuyers took out 90,772 mortgages for second homes in 2023, down 40% from a year earlier and down 65% from the height of the pandemic housing boom in 2021, according to a new report from Redfin.

Mortgages for primary homes fell at half that rate; they were down 20% year over year in 2023 and down 35% from 2021.

This is according to a Redfin analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data covering purchases of second homes, primary homes and investment properties from 2018 to 2023. The term “vacation home” is used interchangeably with “second home” in this report.

Home purchases fell across the board last year due to low inventory, high mortgage rates and high home prices; 2023 was the least affordable year on record. Affordability hasn’t improved in 2024; monthly housing costs are at an all-time high.

Mortgage originations for second homes fell in all major U.S. metros last year. They fell most in Austin, Texas, with a 62.5% year-over-year drop in 2023. Austin’s housing market slowed substantially across the board last year as the pandemic migration boom waned and housing costs climbed too high for many locals.

New Sun Label Group spans genres

Sun Label Group has officially launched under its parent company, Primary Wave Music, bringing together the historic legacies and individual successes of labels across multiple genres into a cohesive and forward-thinking artist-focused ecosystem.

Paul Sizelove, currently president of Gaither Music, will also oversee Sun Label Group as president, with each of the labels retaining their unique structure, individuality and respective teams.

“With Paul stepping into the role of president of the Sun Label Group, we are ushering in a new era of innovation and collaboration,” says Dominic Pandiscia, Chief Strategy Officer, Primary Wave Music/Sun Label Group. “His extensive network of partnerships and relationships will be invaluable as we continue to expand our reach and influence across the music industry,”

With a combined musical past spanning 160 years, the group comprises the iconic Sun Records, renowned for its pivotal role in the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, the gospel melodies and multimedia platforms of Gaither Music, the diversity of repertoire from jazz through Americana at Green Hill Music, the deep bluegrass catalog of Rural Rhythm, and the ambient and relaxing sounds of emeraldwave by Green Hill.

VUMC-led study links herbicide to birth defect

Atrazine, the second-most used herbicide in the United States, is associated with a birth defect called gastroschisis, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in JAMA Network Open.

With this birth defect a baby’s intestines, and at times other organs, extend through a hole next to the belly button.

Previous studies have found an association between atrazine and gastroschisis, but those studies were limited to the state and county level. The national study led by VUMC found that county-level atrazine use was associated with increased odds of gastroschisis.

“According to government reports, each year more than 70 million pounds of atrazine are used in the United States,” said the paper’s first author Sunaya Krishnapura, M.D. candidate, class of 2025, at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Primarily known for its use in commercial agriculture, atrazine is also used to control weeds on highways and residential lawns.

At present, 44 countries, including the European Union, have banned or are phasing out atrazine due to concern for its negative effects on human health.