Overlooking a future football field from the edge of a sprawling stadium terrace — and using a bit of imagination — one can now start to get a better sense of what the viewing experience will be like at new Nissan.
A little more than 18 months since ground was broken on the stadium in February 2024, overall construction is approximately half-finished, meaning work related to the roughly $2.1 billion project remains on track to be completed by February 2027.
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In terms of cold, hard facts and figures, about 55 percent of the steelwork for the future stadium is finished and should top out in November. Approximately 63 percent of the precast (which includes much of the concrete work) is done, and about two-thirds of the masonry work — which includes things like walls and elevator shafts — is now complete.
The 1,400 workers on site began installing glass curtain wall units at the beginning of September, and already 185 are in place.
But underneath the wingspans of a half-dozen cranes, one can start to get a sense of the future stadium’s personality taking shape.
In a media tour conducted Tuesday, the Titans hit on some highlights:
- The 40,000-square-foot terrace, which will be situated between the stadium’s 300 and 400 levels, will offer all fans the opportunity to mix and mingle, while grabbing a quick “frictionless” concession meal (no traditional line or checkout) and looking out over the field.
- Work is set to soon begin on a massive, 55,000-square-foot "Ring of Fire" LED board, one of three giant screens (totaling 77,000 square feet) that will provide a more television-like feel while fans also experience the game live.
- The bases for the high-end 1960 Club and Pinnacle Club suites are in place, giving an idea of how close they’ll sit to the playing field. All of those suites have been sold.
- Construction has also started on the “Touchdown Suites,” located on the field level not far behind the end zones. Ten of these 13 suites have been sold.
Overall, the Titans estimate that seats in the new stadium will be 38 percent closer to the field than the current Nissan Stadium.
“You can [now] get a sense of this coliseum-like feel within the building that we tried to emphasize,” Titans president Burke Nihill said. “Everything feels so much closer to the action. We say 38 percent [closer], but then when you actually walk to the edge and breathe in the air, you feel something very different.
“I think you just can feel everything in the stadium coming alive, and it’s not renderings anymore. It’s real.”
The stadium won’t be all about the bells and whistles, as there are plenty of practical upgrades from the current stadium as well. A few examples:
- The future Nissan Stadium will feature approximately twice as many bathrooms as the current model.
- The stadium will have 44 escalators to help move fans around the site, compared to just four in the current stadium.
- Concourses in the eventual stadium will be far wider than in the current facility, again facilitating fan movement.
- A 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot terrace — not far from the massive main terrace — will be targeted as a family-friendly site, with plenty of entertainment for the youngsters.
Having a homey experience at the future Nissan, Nihill said, was an emphasis in planning the building, which sits about 100 feet away from the current Nissan Stadium. (After two more seasons, the current stadium will be mechanically disabled, as opposed to imploded.)
“I would say we had this 'it all matters’ mentality,’” Nihill said. “There is not a detail that I don’t think has slipped past our team in trying to think through, 'How do you bring the character of Nashville alive?’ or, 'How do you honor the fact it’s in a neighborhood, which is a different experience than other stadiums?’
“One of the primary things [we focused on] was these two stakeholders: our fans and our players. ... How do you make this experience the best in the NFL?”
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
