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Jan 22, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before an AFC Divisional playoff football game between the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

What the NFL told the Titans about hosting a Super Bowl at new stadium

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Nashville

Yesterday's announcement of the Tennessee Titans new stadium deal has raised a lot of questions from Titans fans and Nashville citizens regarding the project.

While the new $2.1 billion dollar project details include a brand new domed stadium and state of the art facilities to improve fan experience, there seems to be growing concern about the Titans decreasing the stadium capacity in the new building.

As announced on Monday, the team plans for the new stadium to seat 55,000-60,000 fans, although the writing on the deal says "approximately 60,000." Even if the number were closer to 60 than 55, the new stadium will be dropping in capacity by about 10,000 seats (Nissan Stadium currently listed at 69,143).

As expected, Titans fans were confused and concerned.

One of the biggest draws to building a new stadium would be the world-class events you could host at the new, enclosed venue. One of those , of course, being the Super Bowl.

Fans were quick to point out, however, that the NFL has requirements for Super Bowl hosts to have a minimum capacity of 70,000 (among other rules), and that downsizing would take the Titans out of contention even with a new stadium.

Well, fans will be happy to know that the Titans may be the exception to that rule.

After speaking with Titans President & CEO Burke Nihill and Kate Guerra, the Vice President of Marketing & Communications for the team, I have no doubts that the Titans plan is still to host a Super bowl in Nashville in the very near future.

I was told that the NFL "assured" Nihill that the Titans new stadium design would qualify Nashville as a Super Bowl host once it is built, despite what previous qualifications suggest. That was instrumental in the negotiating and decision making process.

It is still unknown whether or not there is a plan for additional seating to be added for major events (Final Four, Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, etc.), but it's not an uncommon strategy for host venues.

Fans still may unsettled by the downsizing of stadium capacity. As the Titans are striving to create a more intimate and exclusive environment, it will likely impact ticket prices and ticket availability for fans without season-ticket packages.

But if you're worried about the capacity precluding the Titans from getting the marquee events to Nashville, don't be. The plan is still on for Nashville to host a Super Bowl once the project is complete. That's good news for the city

Image via Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports