| Stadium Name: | Bridgestone Arena |
| Nickname: | Smashville[1] |
| Image Caption: | Bridgestone Arena in 2015 |
| Address: | 501 Broadway |
| Location: | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Coordinates: | 36.1592°N -86.7786°W |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Tennessee Nashville#USA Tennessee#USA |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Nashville##Location in Tennessee##Location in the United States |
| Broke Ground: | January 20, 1994[2] |
| Opened: | December 18, 1996 |
| Renovated: | 2007, 2011, 2015 |
| Owner: | Sports Authority of Nashville Davidson County |
| Operator: | Powers Management Company |
| Surface: | Multi-surface |
| Construction Cost: | $144 million ($ in dollars) |
| Architect: | HOK Sport Hart Freeland Roberts, Inc. |
| Project Manager: | Brookwood Group[3] |
| Structural Engineer: | Thornton Tomasetti |
| Services Engineer: | Smith Seckman Reid Inc. |
| General Contractor: | Turner/Perini[4] |
| Former Names: | Nashville Arena (1996–99, 2007, 2009−10) Gaylord Entertainment Center (1999–2007) Sommet Center (May 2007–November 2009) |
| Tenants: | Nashville Predators (NHL) 1998–present Nashville Kats (AFL) 1997–2001, 2005–2007 Nashville Stampede (PBR) (2022–present) |
| Seating Capacity: |
|
| Record Attendance: | 19,365 (April 15, 2023; Nate Bargatze)[5] |
| Dimensions: | 750000square feet |
Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League.
Designed by HOK Sport (now Populous) in conjunction with the Nashville-based architecture/engineering firm Hart Freeland Roberts, INC., it was designed at an angle on the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue in Nashville in physical homage to the historic Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.[6]
Bridgestone Arena is owned by the Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County and operated by Powers Management Company, a subsidiary of the Nashville Predators National Hockey League franchise, which has been its primary tenant since 1998.
The Predators hosted the NHL Entry Draft here in 2003 and 2023; it was also the location for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.
In 1997, it was the venue of the United States Figure Skating Championships, and in 2004 hosted the USA Gymnastics National Championships. It was the home of the Nashville Kats franchise of the Arena Football League from 1997 until 2001, and hosted the team's revival from 2005 to 2007, when the Kats franchise folded.
The arena has hosted college basketball events, including both men's (2001, 2006, 2010) and women's tournaments of the Southeastern Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference. Nashville will serve as a primary venue for the SEC men's basketball tournament nine times between 2015 and 2025 (2015–2017, 2019–2021, and 2023–2025) after the SEC signed a long-term agreement with the Nashville Sports Council in 2013.[7] It hosted the 2014 NCAA Women's Final Four, the 2018 SEC women's basketball tournament and will host again in 2022 and 2026.[7]
In odd-numbered years, the arena was regularly one of eight sites to host the first and second rounds of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament for the first ten years of its existence, though it was taken out of the rotation for several years, partly due to the obsolete octagonal mid-1990s-style scoreboard that hung above the arena floor. It was replaced in the summer of 2007 by a new $5 million scoreboard and digital control room.[8] The NCAA Tournament returned to Nashville in 2012.
Beginning in 2002, the arena hosted a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Premier Series event every year (except in 2005 and 2006) through 2019 and again in 2021. The event moved to the Arena in 2002 after having previously occupied the Municipal Auditorium from 1993 through 2001. Since 2022, Bridgestone Arena is the home venue of the Nashville Stampede; one of ten bull riding teams of the PBR Team Series held during the summer and autumn in the United States.
The venue has also hosted numerous concerts and religious gatherings. Beginning in 2006, the Country Music Association Awards have been held in the arena, after the awards show moved from the Grand Ole Opry House with a one-year stop in New York City at Madison Square Garden in 2005.
Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, the Predators did not host any games that season until January 19, 2013. Instead, the arena hosted a Southern Professional Hockey League preseason game between the only other Tennessee pro hockey franchise, the Knoxville Ice Bears, and their cross-border rivals Huntsville Havoc on October 20.
Bridgestone Arena has a seating capacity of 17,159 for ice hockey, 19,395 for basketball, 10,000 for half-house concerts, 18,500 for end-stage concerts and 20,000 for center-stage concerts, depending on the configuration used. It has also hosted several professional wrestling events and a boxing card since its opening.
The seating configuration is notable for the oddly-shaped south end, which features two large round roof support columns, no mid-level seating, and only one level of suites, bringing the upper-level seats much closer to the floor.
The arena can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater, used for theater concerts and Broadway and family shows, by placing a stage at the north end of the arena floor and hanging a curtain behind the stage and another to conceal the upper deck. The arena also features 43000square feet of space in a trade show layout.
Nate Bargatze set the attendance record on April 15, 2023, with 19,365 fans in attendance.[5] The previous record (19,292) had been set six weeks earlier by Morgan Wallen. Kacey Musgraves set the record for the highest attendance for a female headliner with 18,373 fans during the Oh, What a World: Tour.
Besides hosting the Nashville Predators, because of its location near Music Row and Nashville's role as the center of country music, Bridgestone Arena has seen many other famous performers and events:
| width=12% style="text-align:center;; | Date | width=10% style="text-align:center;; | Artist | width=16% style="text-align:center;; | Tour / Concert Name | width=16% style="text-align:center;; | Opening Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 5, 2004 | Most Wanted Tour | Haylie Duff | |||||
| November 11, 2004 | Metallica | Madly in Anger with the World Tour | Godsmack | ||||
| February 24, 2006 | Kid Rock | Live Trucker Tour | Ty Stone | ||||
| January 17, 2007 | Gnarls Barkley | ||||||
| November 23, 2007 | Jonas Brothers | ||||||
| February 28, 2008 | Linkin Park | Minutes to Midnight World Tour | |||||
| February 29, 2008 | Kid Rock | Rock N' Roll Revival Tour | Rev Run | ||||
| July 31, 2009 | Green Day | 21st Century Breakdown | Kaiser Chiefs | ||||
| September 12, 2009 | Gloriana Kellie Pickler | ||||||
| October 28, 2009 | Kiss | Alive 35 World Tour | Buckcherry | ||||
| November 25, 2009 | Metro Station | ||||||
| April 21, 2010 | Dashboard Confessional | ||||||
| August 11, 2010 | |||||||
| December 5, 2010 | Naturally 7 | ||||||
| February 18, 2011 | Kid Rock | Born Free Tour | Jamey Johnson, Ty Stone, Sheryl Crow | ||||
| April 3, 2011 | Rush | Time Machine Tour | |||||
| August 17, 2011 | PJ Morton | ||||||
| June 21, 2011 | Jordin Sparks Ashlyne Huff | ||||||
| July 3, 2011 | Glam-A-Geddon | ||||||
| July 18, 2011 | Nicki Minaj Jessie and the Toy Boys NERVO | ||||||
| August 19, 2011 | |||||||
| September 16, 2011 | Needtobreathe Charlie Worsham | ||||||
| September 17, 2011 | |||||||
| February 17, 2012 | Kendrick Lamar A$AP Rocky | ||||||
| February 24, 2012 | Eclipse Tour | ||||||
| March 7, 2012 | Better with U Tour | ||||||
| April 27, 2012 | A Different Kind of Truth Tour | ||||||
| September 23, 2012 | Hunter Hayes | ||||||
| December 13, 2012 | Global Warming Tour | ||||||
| January 18, 2013 | Carly Rae Jepsen Cody Simpson | ||||||
| February 15, 2013 | Kid Rock | Rebel Soul Tour | Buckcherry | ||||
| March 2, 2013 | The Hives | ||||||
| March 6, 2013 | Because We Can | ||||||
| March 24, 2013 | Overexposed Tour | ||||||
| April 27, 2013 | Songs from St. Somewhere Tour | ||||||
| June 18, 2013 | The Package Tour | ||||||
| June 19, 2013 | 5 Seconds of Summer | ||||||
| July 13, 2013 | Luke James | ||||||
| September 6, 2013 | Cage the Elephant | ||||||
| September 19, 2013 | Ed Sheeran Casey James | ||||||
| September 20, 2013 | |||||||
| September 21, 2013 | |||||||
| October 16, 2013 | History of the Eagles – Live in Concert | ||||||
| October 23, 2013 | Naturally 7 | ||||||
| October 25, 2013 | Emblem3 Christina Grimmie | ||||||
| November 15, 2013 | The Weeknd | ||||||
| November 26, 2013 | Hellogoodbye Metric | ||||||
| November 27, 2013 | Kendrick Lamar | ||||||
| February 1, 2014 | Light the Fuse Tour | ||||||
| February 7, 2014 | Gary Clark, Jr. | ||||||
| February 22, 2014 | Beat This Summer Tour | ||||||
| March 14, 2014 | |||||||
| March 29, 2014 | Fifth Harmony Cher Lloyd Collins Key | ||||||
| April 17, 2014 | High Hopes Tour | ||||||
| June 27, 2014 | Capital Cities Ferras | ||||||
| August 7, 2014 | Lily Allen | ||||||
| October 26, 2014 | Out There | ||||||
| December 19, 2014 | DJ Freestyle Steve | ||||||
| January 17, 2015 | Of Mice & Men Rise Against | ||||||
| February 21, 2015 | Tyler Farr Cole Swindell | ||||||
| February 27, 2015 | Magic! Rozzi Crane | ||||||
| March 26, 2015 | Jake Owen Chase Rice | ||||||
| March 27, 2015 | |||||||
| May 1, 2015 | Jekyll and Hyde Tour | ||||||
| May 11, 2015 | The Who Hits 50! | ||||||
| May 27, 2015 | The Main Event | ||||||
| July 8, 2015 | Metric Halsey | ||||||
| July 12, 2015 | Hoodie Allen | ||||||
| July 31, 2015 | Gavin DeGraw | ||||||
| September 5, 2015 | Pentatonix Eric Hutchinson Abi Ann | ||||||
| September 11, 2015 | Hunter Hayes Sam Hunt | ||||||
| September 13, 2015 | x Tour | ||||||
| September 22, 2015 | Prince Royce Who Is Fancy | ||||||
| September 25, 2015 | Vance Joy Haim | ||||||
| September 26, 2015 | |||||||
| January 18, 2016 | Mary Mac | ||||||
| March 18, 2016 | Travis Scott | ||||||
| June 21, 2016 | DNCE Bahari | ||||||
| June 27, 2016 | Post Malone Moxie Raia | ||||||
| July 23, 2016 | One Ok Rock Hey Violet | ||||||
| August 14, 2016 | Roy Woods Dvsn | ||||||
| August 17, 2016 | Vintage Trouble Smooth Hound Smith | ||||||
| September 7, 2016 | Mike Posner Chord Overstreet | ||||||
| September 22, 2016 | Easton Corbin The Swon Brothers | ||||||
| September 24, 2016 | Saint Pablo Tour | ||||||
| October 13, 2016 | Cole Swindell The Cadillac Three Kane Brown Chris Lane | ||||||
| October 15, 2016 | N/A | ||||||
| October 16, 2016 | |||||||
| November 7, 2016 | The Pretenders | ||||||
| February 14, 2017 | Victoria Monét Little Mix | ||||||
| February 18, 2017 | Jake Johnson | ||||||
| April 19, 2017 | 50 Year Anniversary World Tour (Neil Diamond) | ||||||
| May 17, 2017 | Total Package Tour | ||||||
| May 26, 2017 | Holdin' My Own Tour | ||||||
| May 27, 2017 | |||||||
| July 31, 2017 | Charlie Puth | ||||||
| August 4, 2017 | Andra Day | ||||||
| August 5, 2017 | |||||||
| August 30, 2017 | YG DRAM | ||||||
| September 9, 2017 | Kelsea Ballerini Brett Young Lindsay Ell | ||||||
| October 6, 2017 | James Blunt | ||||||
| October 7, 2017 | |||||||
| October 18, 2017 | Noah Cyrus | ||||||
| October 29, 2017 | Gucci Mane Nav | ||||||
| November 13, 2017 | Not in This Lifetime... Tour | ||||||
| November 15, 2017 | Vic Mensa | ||||||
| December 7, 2017 | State of the World Tour | ||||||
| January 19, 2018 | Kid Rock | American Rock n Roll Tour | Sweet Tea Trio, A Thousand Horses | ||||
| February 6, 2018 | Kali Uchis | ||||||
| March 28, 2018 | DJ Khaled Kehlani | ||||||
| April 15, 2018 | Run the Jewels Mitski | ||||||
| May 4, 2018 | The Struts | ||||||
| May 9, 2018 | The Shadowboxers | ||||||
| May 26, 2018 | Experience + Innocence Tour | ||||||
| June 12, 2018 | Kacey Musgraves | ||||||
| July 7, 2018 | The Thrill of It All Tour | ||||||
| July 10, 2018 | Grace VanderWaal | ||||||
| July 13, 2018 | Wes Period | ||||||
| July 21, 2018 | Bastian Baker | ||||||
| September 11, 2018 | Machine Gun Kelly Gym Class Heroes | ||||||
| September 17, 2018 | Young Thug Jaden Smith EarthGang | ||||||
| September 18, 2018 | Roy Woods | ||||||
| September 23, 2018 | Julia Michaels | ||||||
| October 2, 2018 | Billie Eilish | ||||||
| October 7, 2018 | Ella Mai DJ Rashida | ||||||
| October 8, 2018 | |||||||
| October 16, 2018 | Awolnation Max Frost | ||||||
| October 24, 2018 | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | ||||||
| October 26, 2018 | The Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour | ||||||
| December 2, 2018 | Vince Staples | ||||||
| January 24, 2019 | Jim Breuer | ||||||
| January 25, 2019 | Two Feet Betty Who | ||||||
| February 27, 2019 | An Evening with Fleetwood Mac | ||||||
| March 10, 2019 | Julia Michaels KidCutUp | ||||||
| March 20, 2019 | Sheck Wes | ||||||
| March 22, 2019 | Cat Power | ||||||
| March 28, 2019 | Moon Taxi | ||||||
| March 29, 2019 | Kelsea Ballerini Brynn Cartelli | ||||||
| April 9, 2019 | End of the Road World Tour | ||||||
| May 16, 2019 | Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real | ||||||
| June 7, 2019 | Normani Social House | ||||||
| June 20, 2019 | Rachel Platten Citizen Queen | ||||||
| June 21, 2019 | |||||||
| July 19, 2019 | An Evening with Michael Bublé | ||||||
| August 2, 2019 | Alessia Cara | ||||||
| August 15, 2019 | The Rhapsody Tour | ||||||
| August 19, 2019 | The Raven Age | ||||||
| August 26, 2019 | DNA World Tour | ||||||
| September 10, 2019 | Bebe Rexha Jordan McGraw | ||||||
| September 24, 2019 | |||||||
| September 27, 2019 | Maddie & Tae Runaway June | ||||||
| October 13, 2019 | Dustin Lynch Russell Dickerson Rhett Akins Little Big Town HARDY Tyler Hubbard | ||||||
| October 20, 2019 | World War Joy Tour | ||||||
| October 25, 2019 | Oh, What a World: Tour II | Maggie Rogers Yola | |||||
| December 5, 2019 | Social House | ||||||
| January 13, 2020 | |||||||
| February 19, 2020 | Mt. Joy J.S. Ondara | ||||||
| March 4, 2020 | Swae Lee Tyla Yaweh | ||||||
| March 6, 2020 | The Band Camino Ingrid Andress | ||||||
| March 7, 2020 | |||||||
| September 29, 2021 | Jenny Lewis | ||||||
| October 1, 2021 | |||||||
| October 7, 2021 | I Feel Good Tour | Iggy Azalea | |||||
| October 8, 2021 | 25th Anniversary Keepin' It Country Tour | Jeff Foxworthy Jon Pardi | |||||
| February 11, 2022 | King Princess MUNA | ||||||
| February 14, 2022 | Caroline Polachek Lolo Zouaï | ||||||
| March 9, 2022 | Duckwrth | ||||||
| March 16, 2022 | The Dangerous Tour | HARDY Larry Fleet | |||||
| March 17, 2022 | |||||||
| March 18, 2022 | |||||||
| April 13, 2022 | Sob Rock Tour | Yebba | |||||
| April 28, 2022 | |||||||
| May 18, 2022 | Jaden Smith Eddie Benjamin TEO | ||||||
| May 21, 2022 | Kid Rock | Bad Reputation Tour | Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening | ||||
| July 5, 2022 | Rod Stewart The Hits | Cheap Trick | |||||
| July 31, 2022 | Baby Keem Tanna Leone | ||||||
| August 16, 2022 | |||||||
| August 23, 2022 | Dilly Dally Turnstile | ||||||
| August 27, 2022 | |||||||
| September 1, 2022 | James Bay | ||||||
| September 7, 2022 | Peter McPoland | ||||||
| September 8, 2022 | DNA World Tour | ||||||
| September 17, 2022 | Johnny Marr | ||||||
| September 20, 2022 | Knotfest Roadshow Tour | Ice Nine Kills Crown the Empire | |||||
| October 7, 2022 | Ingrid Andress | ||||||
| October 8, 2022 | MARINA Jake Wesley Rogers | ||||||
| October 9, 2022 | Can't Stop Us Now Tour | Sean Paul | |||||
| October 10, 2022 | Spirits on Fire Tour | Jane's Addiction Poppy | |||||
| October 14, 2022 | Rock N' Roll Cowboy Tour | Gabby Barrett John Morgan | |||||
| October 16, 2022 | Roddy Ricch | ||||||
| October 21, 2022 | Reba: Live in Concert | Terri Clark | |||||
| October 23, 2022 | Latto | ||||||
| October 26, 2022 | Good Morning Gorgeous Tour | Queen Naija Ella Mai | |||||
| December 2, 2022 | Humble Quest Tour | Brittney Spencer Ruston Kelly | |||||
| December 9, 2022 | One Night Only at Bridgestone Arena | ||||||
| December 14, 2022 | Trans-Siberian Orchestra | 2022 Winter Tour | |||||
| February 17, 2023 | Adam Sandler | ||||||
| April 15, 2023 | Nate Bargatze | The Be Funny Tour Billed as "From Old Hickory To Broadway" | Brian Bates Aaron Weber Dusty Slay Stephen Bargatze | ||||
| February 19, 2023 | TobyMac | Hits Deep Tour 2023 | Crowder Cochren & Co.Tasha Layton Jon Reddick Terrian | ||||
| March 1, 2023 | Carrie Underwood | Denim & Rhinestones Tour[10] | Jimmie Allen | ||||
| March 31, 2023 | Drunk Or Dreamin' Tour | ||||||
| May 4, 2023 | Janet Jackson | Together Again | Ludacris | ||||
| July 1, 2023 | Kid Rock | Bad Reputation Tour | Travis Tritt | ||||
| July 8, 2023 | |||||||
| July 27, 2023 | The Chicks | The Chicks Tour | Wild Rivers | ||||
| July 28, 2023 | 50 Cent | The Final Lap Tour | Busta Rhymes, Jeremih | ||||
| October 1, 2023 | Drake & 21 Savage | It's All a Blur Tour | Lil Durk | ||||
| October 2, 2023 | |||||||
| October 6, 2023 | Phish | 2023 Fall Tour[11] | |||||
| October 7, 2023 | |||||||
| October 8, 2023 | |||||||
| October 9, 2023 | Jonas Brothers | Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour | Lawrence | ||||
| October 20, 2023 | |||||||
| October 22, 2023 | The 1975 | Still... At Their Very Best | Dora Jar | ||||
| October 19, 2023 | Depeche Mode | Memento Mori World Tour | DIIV | ||||
| December 4, 2023 | Travis Scott | Circus Maximus Tour | Teezo Touchdown | ||||
| January 10, 2024 | Aerosmith | The Black Crowes | |||||
| March 9, 2024 | Olivia Rodrigo | Guts World Tour | Chappell Roan | ||||
| March 24, 2024 | Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday 2 World Tour | Monica | ||||
| May 11, 2024 | Bad Bunny | Most Wanted Tour | |||||
| July 31, 2024 | AJR | The Maybe Man Tour | |||||
| October 9, 2024 | Twenty One Pilots | The Clancy World Tour | |||||
| November 6, 2024 | Billie Eilish |
The Bridgestone Arena was nominated for the 2007 Pollstar Concert Industry Venue of the Year Award. This is the fourth time the venue has been nominated. The first was in 1998 as the Nashville Arena, and then in 1999 and 2000 as the Gaylord Entertainment Center.[12] In 2017 it was named loudest arena in sports.
When completed in 1996, the venue was known as Nashville Arena. In 1999, the arena was renamed Gaylord Entertainment Center after a 20-year, $80 million naming rights contract was signed between the Predators and Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Company, which at the time was a minority owner of the team.[13] [14]
In February 2005, it was announced that the Predators and Gaylord (which had earlier sold its stake in the team) had reached an agreement terminating any further involvement between them, and that the Gaylord name would remain on the building only until a new purchaser could be found for the naming rights. As a result, many in the Nashville media quickly reverted to calling the facility by its original name. With the beginning of the 2006 season, the Predators began referring to the arena by its original name as well. In doing so, the team replaced the "Gaylord Entertainment Center" wordmark on the center ice circle with the original "Nashville Predators" wordmark from the inaugural season. The "Gaylord Entertainment Center" name, however, was still displayed on the building's exterior signage at that point.
The facility was officially renamed Nashville Arena again, and all Gaylord signage was removed from the building's exterior on March 16, 2007.[15]
On May 18, 2007, Sommet Group, a Franklin-based collection of companies whose services included human resources administration, payroll processing, software development, computer repair, insurance, and risk management bought the naming rights to the arena, and it became known as Sommet Center. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.[16] The company had previously been the corporate title sponsor for the Predators during the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The agreement had lasted little more than two years when the Predators sued the Sommet Group on November 25, 2009, for breach of contract, alleging the latter had failed to make numerous payments under the naming rights agreement. As part of the suit, the Predators stated intentions to seek a new title sponsor for the arena.[17] Unlike the Gaylord parting-of-ways, Sommet Group's name was stripped from all signage inside and outside the arena as soon as the team was legally allowed to do so. The arena reverted to the Nashville Arena name after a Nashville Sports Authority meeting approving the change on December 3, 2009.[18] On July 6, 2010, Sommet Group's headquarters were raided by the FBI and IRS due to suspicion of fraudulent activities, and the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated.[19] [20] Sommet's founder, Brian Whitfield, was eventually convicted of fraud, including using some of the fraudulent funds to secure the arena naming rights.[21]
The building briefly resumed using the Nashville Arena moniker until February 23, 2010, when it was announced that the Predators had signed a naming rights deal with Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone. The arena became known as Bridgestone Arena.[22]
In the summer of 2007 a number of renovations were made to what was then called the Sommet Center at a cost of several million dollars.[23] Renovations included changes to concession stands and public areas, as well as major changes to infrastructure. The most obvious change was the August 2007 replacement of the original center-hanging scoreboard (at a cost of $3.6 million) with a new scoreboard made by ANC Sports.[24] The original analog scoreboard had become outdated and was no longer supported by the original manufacturer, making parts difficult to come by.[25] The new scoreboard is referred to as the "megatron" by arena and Predators staff. In addition, the TV–media control room was renovated at a cost of $2.6 million.
During the summer of 2011, a new NHL-mandated ice and dasherboard system was constructed and installed in the arena. In addition, the south side of the upper concourse was redesigned as a "fan zone". The wall separating the arena and that part of the upper concourse was removed.
In the summer of 2015, the Predators began replacing all of the arena's seating. This project was completed in Summer of 2016.[26]
In the summer of 2019, the scoreboard above center ice was replaced with a new model known as "FangVision" which measures high and wide, along with the replacement of urinals in the men's toilets with waterless versions.[27]
Twice in the building's history, event level space (located below street level) has sustained significant flood damage.
In early May 2010, downtown Nashville was heavily impacted by a major flooding event. Located 0.3 miles away and uphill from the bank of the Cumberland River, Bridgestone Arena escaped heavy damage, but drainage system backups caused several inches of standing flood water to seep into the building. The Predators had been eliminated from the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs the week prior, and the arena's schedule was mostly clear for the remainder of May as a result. No events were affected by cleanup and repairs.[28]
On November 25, 2022, a water main beneath Demonbreun Street ruptured, spilling thousands of gallons of water into the arena. Two Predators games were postponed as a result, and a college hockey game planned for Bridgestone Arena was moved to another facility in Nashville.[29]