NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The college football season is wrapping up, and bowl season is in full swing. Today, the Auburn Tigers and Maryland Terrapins come to town to square off in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium.
The anticipation all started with the battle of the bands that took place yesterday on Broadway. This is normally Nashville's slowest tourism week, but the TransPerfect Music City Bowl has turned that around. Since its inception, the TransPerfect Bowl game has had a $400 million impact on the city.
The President of the Nashville Sports Council, Scott Ramsey, said the attendance record is a testament to the incredible passion and dedication of college football fans here in Nashville, across Tennessee and the country.
Parking lots open at 9 a.m. Metro Police say around 45,000 football fans are expected to be at the stadium to cheer on their teams.
Police will be utilizing the same traffic plan that is used for Titans games. The Woodland Street Bridge will close at 10:30 a.m. today and will be available to only pedestrians and shuttle buses. Fans driving into Nashville on game day are urged to arrive early, have a parking plan, and follow the guidance provided on interstate message boards.
The game kicks off at 1 p.m. Don’t forget about the clear bag policy.
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom