Nashville launches committee to explore taxpayer funding on East Bank

By Jon Styf, The Center Square,  Oct 30, 2023 – Nashville’s Metro Council plans to continue to keep close tabs on East Bank public spending with a new ad hoc East Bank Committee.

The group will build on work done last council term by Metro Nashville’s East Bank Stadium Committee, then led by at-large Council Member Bob Mendes, who is now part of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s development team.

The new committee will be chaired by District 5 Council Member Sean Parker after it was called by Vice Mayor Angie Emery Henderson. Both Parker and Henderson were skeptics of the deal put together for more than $1.2 billion in public funding for the construction of a new $2.1 billion Titans stadium that includes a projected $3.1 billion tax capture during the life of a new stadium lease.

Both Parker and Henderson voted against the deal, along with O’Connell.

“The stadium subsidy is a settled matter, but now we must ensure that our investments on the East Bank are strategic and benefit the city as a whole,” Parker said. “We’ve heard loud and clear that Nashvillians don’t want to just expand the downtown party district across the river. I am committed to conducting a transparent and collaborative process with the administration, the council, and the public, including engagement with communities most impacted by the project.”

A development proposal from Fallon shows the city bonding $75 million for infrastructure at the site of a development outside the new stadium.

The committee’s first meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 8.

Other committee members include” At-Large Council Member Quin Evans Segall, District 2 Council Member Kyonzté Toombs, District 6 Council Member Clay Capp, District 15 Council Member Jeff Gregg, District 17 Council Member Terry Vo and District 19 Council Member Jacob Kupin.

“This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for our city, and I am committed to incorporating affordable living and a multi-modal transportation network that will make the East Bank a neighborhood that all of Nashville can be proud of and enjoy for generations,” said Kupin, who represents the area that includes the East Bank.

The state already committed $200 million for the relocation of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to Nashville’s East Bank and a $65 million incentive for Oracle’s new $1.35 billion campus nearby.

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