- Target:
- Residents of Nashville, Tennessee
- Region:
- United States of America
It has been close to a decade since the Nashville Thermal plant operated on its prime riverfront real estate and Nashville still does not have a solid plan for the site. Many suggestions have been made, but nothing has been able to replace the 11 acre fenced off site.
Nashvillians could have been utilizing this gorgeous site for weekend picnics, afternoon lunches, or just a place to toss around the Frisbee for years. It is our goal to help persuade Mayor Karl Dean and the local Nashville Government to redevelop this site into a world class baseball stadium and riverfront park system.
We understand that the Nashville Sounds are not living up to their contract with the city and their current Baseball Stadium in South Nashville, but we feel that negotiations with the Sounds should not hold this project back. We are more than happy to welcome a new minor league baseball team to Nashville and 90% of those temas would love to play in a brand new stadium in downtown Nashville.
We, the undersigned, call on Mayor Karl Dean to petition the local Nashville Government to redevelop the old Nashville Thermal Plant site into a state-of-the-art minor league baseball stadium.
Specifically, the stadium should be built in the ‘old world’ tradition. All brick facades should grace its entrances and spacious concourses should usher in the fans while the experience inside should rival Fenway Park. Attach a 4 story parking structure on the Shelby bridge side using the same brick architecture. The structure should stretch the entire length of the right field line and house a minimum of 800 parking spaces. Luxury suites, the press box, restaurants, bars, and lounge areas should be built atop the parking structure and provide easy access to both parking and the stadium. This extended structure will also house the movable performance stage with electronics and allow for exceptionally fast set up. The stadium should also offer baseball fans what they expect: home runs that splash in the Cumberland River, world-class amenities, and, most importantly, the signature guitar shaped video score board.
A series of small parks, a central fountain, walking trails, and picnic areas will connect the baseball stadium to the riverfront and offer Nashvillians a place to meet for lunch or to play on the weekend. Special attention should be paid to ensure that these parks are not high maintenance, are safe, and are as versatile as the stadium itself. A weekend “Baseball Train” should be coordinated in order to give residents to the East of Nashville an easy and fun way to get to afternoon and evening games.
The cost of the new baseball stadium and park system should be totally supported by tourism tax dollars and city bonds. Ideally, this stadium will be built with a major league expansion in mind. We are realistic and certainly do not expect any such MLB interest in the short term, but the stadium construction should take a future major league stadium expansion into account.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Downtown Nashville Baseball Stadium on the Riverfront petition to Residents of Nashville, Tennessee was written by Grant Hammond and is in the category City & Town Planning at GoPetition.