Nashville’s Priorities is a group of concerned citizens who have come together to educate the public about the impact the construction of a new downtown convention center and hotel would have — how it will affect the City’s budget, education dollars, obligations to Metro employees past and present, private sector business, and capital improvements like roads and sidewalks.

Largest public works project in the city's history

Preliminary estimates indicate the project will cost one billion dollars or more. The size, scope, and price tag would make the proposed Music City Center the largest public works project in Nashville’s history! On top of that, having the citizens and taxpayers of Metro Nashville pay to build and own a hotel is unprecedented.

Nashville’s Priorities seeks to evaluate the expenditure in terms of its actual benefits to the city and its tourist industry. Can some or all of the money be spent on other, more effective efforts to boost tourist revenues, as a report by University of Tennessee’s Dr. William Fox suggests?

Significant subsidies may be required

Studies paid for by the city and conducted by KPMG and Dr. Fox caution that “significant annual subsidies” may be required, even if the scale of the project is reduced. In plain language, that means taxpayer dollars will be diverted from other priorities.

Our post-2008 economy has made us as private citizens re-evaluate our financial decisions and obligations. Common sense makes this a good time to revisit the assumptions and projections that made the Music City Center seem like a better idea a few years ago. Let’s look as objectively as possible at the plan and ask ourselves:

Is this the best possible use of a billion dollars?