The world is arriving ... and watching

How we handle 175K visitors for NHL, CMA, Bonnaroo & more could open surprising doors

Friday, June 2, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 22
By Linda Bryant

Hosting the NHL Stanley Cup Finals is the biggest moment in Nashville’s sports history.

Yes, the Titans made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2000, but that game was played in Atlanta.

The Titans needed the Music City Miracle to get to that Super Bowl, and it might take another miracle for the city – actually, the Middle Tennessee region – to emerge from the next two weeks with its patience intact.

During that span, the area will be hosting:

-- Two to three Stanley Cup Finals games

-- The CMA Festival with its 88,000 attendees

-- The 36/86 Conference, with thousands of techies, entrepreneurs and investors meeting at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center

-- Bonnaroo, with 80,000 fans converging on Manchester

And to make matters worse, the CMA Fest and Bonnaroo end on Sunday, June 11, the same date as Game 5. You don’t want to be flying out of Nashville International the next morning.

How Nashville handles this convergence could raise the city’s profile in the eyes of those who select cities for other high-profile, “neutral-floor” sporting events, as well as large conventions.

Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Convention and Visitors Corp. says he believes Nashville is more than ready to deal with the challenges of hosting multiple major events at the same time. With some planning and adjustments, he even says we could manage a mega-sized event such as the Super Bowl.

“I think at this point we can pretty much handle anything we want to handle,” Spyridon explains. “Of course, if we want to bid on a Super Bowl it will depend on the stadium renovations.”

Super Bowls are traditionally held in domed stadiums or in warm-weather locations with larger, open-air stadiums.

Super Bowl host cities must also have “35 percent as many hotel rooms as the number of stadium seats guaranteed in the bid, located in properties within a 60-minute drive of the stadium (e.g. for a 75,000-seat stadium, there must be a minimum of 27,000 hotel rooms within the 60-mile radius),” according to a 2013 NFL document listing host-city requirements.

There are currently 27,300 hotel rooms in Davidson County; 39,950 hotel rooms in the Nashville MSA and 4,115 under construction.

Feel a draft?

In the meantime, Spyridon has his eyes on another kind of prize – the NHL or NFL draft.

“We are looking at (the drafts) because they have become a major off-season event,” he adds. “What (the NFL) did in Philadelphia drew enormous numbers, as many as 50,000 to 70,000 on just the first day.

“We have the experience to do this. The only limitations are whether we really want to do it. We have the capacity, whether it be on Lower Broad, Bridgestone Arena or Titan’s stadium.”

Greg Adkins, president and CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality & Tourism Society agrees.

“I’d argue that we are one of the better cities in the country to handle big events,” Adkins points out.

“I think we are well on our way to have the infrastructure to handle larger events. As a matter of fact, we have businesses that are starting to rely on them.

“We have handled events really well, not just from a hotel perspective,” Adkins adds. “The way the city is situated downtown is an advantage. Nashville is a very walkable city between all our different venues, and it can handle a large amount of people. It’s actually better than a lot of cities where you have to bus them and transport by car.”

Other advantages cited by Adkins:

-- Nashville’s access to major interstates and highways

-- The availability of more air routes and services

-- A wide network of hotels and other hospitality services outside of Nashville in locales such as Murfreesboro, Franklin, Cool Springs, Goodlettsville and Wilson County.

“Our biggest challenge is labor, finding enough employees that are qualified and keeping those employees without wages going way up,” Adkins adds.

Spyridon argues that Nashville has already proven its mettle on the national stage when it comes to managing big events efficiently and successfully.

“We have taken the steps before to take on more than one event at a time. We have come to grips with events that are as big as any in the world,” he points out. “Even with New Year’s Eve on Broadway, we’ve had a concert at the Bridgestone Arena and a concert at the Ryman at the same time.

“Just last year we had 50,000 (people) on Broadway for New Year’s Eve. And a few years ago, when the weather was perfect, we had a record 280,000 within a half mile radius.”

Nashville’s traditional New Year’s Eve celebration moved from Broadway to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park for the first time this year and drew close to 100,000 rain-soaked revelers.

There’s another issue that looms in the background, Spyridon and Adkins say, when it comes to Nashville being chosen to host a very large national or international event – the region’s lack of an extensive public transportation system.

“We have grown to a point where we have to address this issue and solve it,” Spyridon says. “I think that it’s obvious that it should be a top priority for Mayor (Megan) Barry. As we continue to grow we are going to have this resource.”

‘Wizard of Oz’ in color

Ever since it became clear that Nashville would host the Stanley Cup Finals and CMA Festival at the same time, dozens of behind-the-scenes players and city departments – from Metro Public Works to the Mayor’s Office, CVC, Country Music Association, Predators management, parking professionals, etc. – have gone into hyperdrive.

Sarah Trahern, CEO of CMA, uses a movie analogy to describe how planning and managing tasks felt before and after the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks on May 22 to advance to the Finals.

“It was like going from the black and white Wizard of Oz to the color Wizard of Oz,” Trahern says, laughing.

But even though the experience is a bit surreal because of its magnitude, Trahern says there’s an air of competence and confidence permeating all the various organizers and stakeholders who are working day and night to coordinate and execute the events.

And, she points out that everyone got a lucky break on the schedule.

“We are very fortunate the first two games, June 3 and 10, fall before (the CMA Festival),” she says. “Certainly, we are loading into all of our facilities before those dates; we started downtown at the stadium this week.”

Trahern says one of the most daunting logistical challenges of the overlapping events was the recent decision to move the 2017 CMT Music Awards, set for June 7, from Bridgestone Arena to the Music City Center.

The awards show, which is hosted this year by Charles Esten of CMT’s “Nashville,” attracts an international viewership and feature high-profile country music stars such as Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett.

“We’ve worked through most of the challenges,” Trahern adds. “The only day we’re going to have a true overlap (of crowds flooding into multiple events) is Game 6 on June 11. If the Predators sweep in four games we’ll be lucky and not have to deal with that.”

“Usually the biggest challenge we have is, ‘Do we have enough Porta Potties in the area,’” Trahern continues. “Adding the Stanley Cup into the mix has meant our biggest challenge for the past few weeks has been dealing with all the ‘what ifs.’ Everyone has to be prepared for so many different scenarios.”

Spyridon and Trahern say the extensive network of city officials, planners, executives, managers and other key players working together to pull off the multiple events are constantly communicating in meetings or via phone conferences.

“We are interacting with (representatives) of the infrastructure of the city pretty heavily,” Trahern adds. “Even before all this happened we’ve been working with the Mayor’s Office.

“After all our events, we have extensive post mortems with the police, the Mayor’s Office, traffic (representatives), the Predators, CMT and CVC and many others on how to make our event better for the next year. We basically work this festival year-round.”

Trahern says the group meetings and planning sessions are powerful – even profound, at times – because people are working so closely and effectively together.

She says one of her CMA co-workers recently “got chills” during a planning meeting because the teamwork was so harmonious and purposeful.

Are we safe?

One question is surely on the minds of many: Are we safe from terrorist attack like the one that just occurred in Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Sean Braisted, Mayor Megan Barry’s press secretary, says the city is experienced across departments in coordinating and executing safety measures.

“(We work with) experts on finding ways to plan for events that will allow maximum attendance while maintaining our top priority – safety of the attendees, as well as minimizing potential negative impacts on residents and businesses in the area,” he adds.

Kris Mumford, spokeswoman for the Metro Police Dept., echoes Braisted.

“We’ve done multiple events downtown before,” Mumford says. “It’s very exciting, but it’s not new for us, although the national attention will be a little different.

“Right now, we’re still in the planning stages for the Stanley Cup finals, so announcements about street closures and road closures are coming up.”

Metro Police won’t divulge details about their safety and surveillance methods, Mumford says, but she offers the following reassurance:

“We do have a special events contingency, it’s called the Custom Services Division,” she says. “All they do is focus on getting the manpower needed for these events. So yes, we will have the people and the resources we need.

“We work with Homeland Security, the FBI and federal authorities to monitor any potential threats,” Mumford adds. “Right now, there are no identified threats or any indications that Nashville is at a greater risk of attack.

“We plan with an abundance of caution, but (it’s important for people to know) we have handled these types of events before and we’re confident that we will do everything we can to ensure everyone has a safe and fun visit to Nashville.”

Supply and demand

Many services businesses – from hotels to ride-sharing companies to car rental agencies – say they began preparing for the possibility a CMA Festival/Stanley Cup doubleheader in advance.

“We expect the week of CMAs and Stanley Cup to be our biggest of the entire year, but luckily we have been planning for some time,” says Sam Nadler, general manager of Lyft Nashville.

“Large events like the CMA Fest increase rides over 50 percent, with this year’s boost expected to be just as big or bigger with the Stanley Cup Finals in town.”

Nadler says it will be all hands on deck when it comes to drivers.

“Part-time drivers will drive more, drivers who haven’t driven in a while will come back and even drivers in other markets will come for the event,” he continues.

“Our top priority is to always offer a great passenger experience by ensuring our drivers are on the road at the most needed moments, and that drivers have the information they need such as designated pickup areas and peak hours.”

The law of supply and demand will be in full force as Nashville fills during the first two weeks of June.

Even ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft will increase rates during peak times.

Lisa Martini, a spokesperson for Enterprise Holdings Inc., which owns Alamo, Enterprise and National car rental companies, says local affiliates are prepared to ask for extra vehicles if needed.

“In the Nashville area, our rental demand has been steady, and currently we have the vehicle supply we need to handle the busy summer season and upcoming event demand,” Martini says. “However, because Enterprise Holdings operates more than 6,400 neighborhood and airport branch offices throughout the U.S., we are always prepared to move vehicles around the country as needed.”

Martini advises customers “to make their reservations as far in advance as possible, and keep in mind that rates can vary based on various factors, including: seasonal demand, weekend vs. weekday demand and renting at an airport vs. neighborhood.”

In 2015, Enterprise Holdings identified Nashville as one of its major areas for expansion because their combined brands were experiencing a double-digit year-over-year increase in transactions. Over the past two years, that growth has continued, Martini adds.

Room prices for hotels and motels and rentals for Airbnb-style lodgings rise and, in some cases, could double, depending on how close to the action downtown they are.

Adkins says it’s a given that lodging will be more expensive.

“Downtown (hotels) fill up downtown first, then West End, the airport, Gaylord Conference Center and surrounding counties,” he points out.

On May 28, the Ledger checked a sampling of hotel/motel room prices online, comparing dates during the Stanley Cup games in date in mid-August.

Here are a few examples:

-- Union Station Hotel was quoted online as $469 for June 11, compared to $262 on Aug. 11

-- Hampton Inn in Green Hills – $309 on June 11, $179 on Aug. 23.

-- Courtyard Marriott in Goodlettsville – was $161 on June 11, and $122 on Aug. 11.

-- Hilton Garden Inn Nashville/Franklin Cool Springs found the same rate – $139 – for June 11 and Aug. 11.

Even motels with traditionally low rates show increases. For example, the Drake Inn on Murfreesboro Pike shows rates of $95-$125 on June 11, compared to $54-$65 on August 13.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel is sold out for June 11.

Home sweet Airbnb?

It’s also a sure bet that short-term rentals such as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO are will overflow with guests.

Although services such as Airbnb remain controversial in some circles, particularly neighborhood groups and hotel/motel associations, Spyridon explains these services helpful during large events.

“Whether we like Airbnb or not, thanks to them we’d still have capacity,” Spyridon says. “I think they serve a necessary function. They take a lot pressure off of CMA (lodging demands) because it’s generally more affordable (than many hotel rooms.)

Benjamin Breit, a spokesperson for Airbnb, says there are about 2,800 Nashvillians who offer Airbnb short-term rentals with room for one person up to large groups of 10-15 or more.

“The home-sharing platform provides tremendous economic benefits to cities hosting big events by expanding lodging capacity as hotels sell out,” Breit says.

“And what’s particularly exciting is that is the effect for the merchant community. We know through survey data that Airbnb guests to Nashville spend $184 a day on overage at restaurants, shops, cabs, etc., and that doesn’t even take into effect extra spending associated with big events.”

What about hotel and motel rooms?

Do we have enough to handle the upcoming deluge of people to Nashville in early June or to eventually host a mega-sized national event like the Super Bowl?

Adkins thinks we’ll do fine with upcoming multiple events in June, although he says some people will have to stay farther out from the urban core. We are not quite there when it comes to having enough lodging to accommodate a Super Bowl, he says.

“But we’re getting there,” he adds.

Adkins says to expect many more rooms and accommodations in coming years.

“The latest data show that there are between 1,500 and 3,000 rooms in development during any given 12- to 18-month period,” he explains.

“And there are another 2,000-3,000 in predevelopment concept or seeking financing (during a similar time frame.) We are consistently rated as one of the hottest markets in the country.”

There are currently 27,300 hotel rooms in Davidson County; 39,950 hotel rooms in the Nashville MSA and 4,115 under construction.