NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Under new mayoral leadership, Nashville is now suing the state over revoking its power to control the city's Sports Authority.
This goes back to the legislature's decision this spring to make the board state-controlled after lawmakers previously agreed on $500 million in state bonds for the new Tennessee Titans stadium. At the time, Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookveille, said if the Nashville Sports Authority didn't want state involvement, it shouldn't have asked for the funding.
However, that wasn't the order of events. Gov. Bill Lee is the one who came to the legislature to ask for funding in his 2022-2023 budget. He told the public in March 2022 at an event at the GM plant in Spring Hill. It wasn't the Nashville Sports Authority who asked the state, and the Sports Authority didn't complete its stadium votes until this year.
"We do not enjoy filing lawsuits against the state, and in fact, hope for an improved relationship," Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz said. “But this statute affects only Nashville, not any other sports authority in Tennessee. We cannot sit idly by and let the State deprive the Metropolitan Government and the people who live here of their rights under our Tennessee Constitution.”
The state-controlled board is set to take hold on Jan. 1. That means vacating the current 13-member board of directors, reappointing seven people who were members of the board as of June 30, 2023, and removing the power of Metro Nashville’s Mayor and Council to appoint and confirm the remaining six directors. The statute does not provide for it to be approved by the Metro Council or the voters.
“Since its creation in 1995, the Sports Authority’s board members — Nashvillians appointed by the mayor of Nashville — have guided the incredible growth of our city’s professional and amateur sports and recreational activities," Mayor Freddie O’Connell said. "Their able oversight is evident at every stadium, arena, and ballpark event we all enjoy."
The suit sits before a three-judge panel in the Davidson County Chancery Court. Dietz's complaint asks for a temporary injunction to block the implementation of the Jan. 1 date.
