Gaylord Entertainment Center

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Gaylord Entertainment Center
Location	501 Broadway Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Opened	1996
Owner	Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County
Operator	Powers Management Company
Architect	HOK Sport
Tenants
Nashville Predators (NHL) (1998-present) Nashville Kats (AFL) (1997-2001, 2005-present)
Seats
Basketball: 20,000 Hockey: 17,113 Concert: 18,500 (end stage); 10,000 (half-house) Theatre: 5,145 (as the Music City Theater)

The Gaylord Entertainment Center (also called Nashville Arena) is an all-purpose venue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee which was completed in 1996. In 1997, it was the host venue of the United States Figure Skating Association national championships, and in 2004 hosted the U.S. Gymnastics championships.

The GEC (sometimes informally pronounced "geck") is owned by the Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County and operated by Powers Management Company, a subsidiary of the Nashville Predators National Hockey League franchise, which has been its primary tenant since 1998. It was the home of the Nashville Kats franchise of the Arena Football League from 1997 until 2001, and has hosted the team's revival since 2005. The venue has also hosted numerous concerts and religious gatherings, and some major basketball events, including both men's (2001, 2006, 2010) and women's tournaments of the Southeastern Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference. In odd-numbered years, The GEC is regularly one of eight sites to host the first and second rounds of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament. It has a seating capacity of 17,113 for ice hockey, approximately 20,000 for basketball, 10,000 for half-house concerts, 18,500 for end-stage concerts and 20,000 for center-stage concerts, depending on the configuration used. It has also hosted several professional wrestling events since its opening.

The arena can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater, used for theater concerts and Broadway and family shows, by placing a stage at the north end of the arena floor and hanging a curtain behind the stage and another to conceal the upper deck. It was used on November 6, 2006 as the venue for the nationally televised 2006 Country Music Association Awards show.The arena also features 43,000 square feet of space in a trade show layout.

In February 2005, it was announced that the Predators and Gaylord had reached an agreement terminating any further involvement between them and that the Gaylord name would remain on the building only until a new purchaser could be found for the naming rights. As a result, many in the Nashville media have reverted to calling the facility by its original name, the Nashville Arena. With the beginning of the 2006 season, the Predators began referring to the arena by its original name as well. In doing so, the team replaced the "Gaylord Entertainment Center" wordmark on the center ice circle with the original "Nashville Predators" wordmark from the inaugural season.

[edit] External link

• The Gaylord Entertainment Center website

Preceded by: first arena

Home of the Nashville Predators 1998–present

Succeeded by: current

Coordinates: 36°9′33″N, 86°46′42″W

Nashville Athletic Venues Allen Arena | Centennial Sportsplex | Curb Event Center | Ezell Park | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Gentry Center | Hawkins Field Herschel Greer Stadium | LP Field | Memorial Gymnasium | Music City Motorplex | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | Vanderbilt Stadium Former: Sulphur Dell Future: First Tennessee Field

Nashville landmarks

BellSouth Building • Bicentennial Mall State Park • Centennial Park • Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art • Country Music Hall of Fame • Fort Nashborough • Fort Negley • Frist Center for the Visual Arts • Gaylord Entertainment Center • Gaylord Opryland Resort • Greer Stadium • LP Field • Memorial Gymnasium • Nashville City Cemetery • Nashville International Airport • Nashville Zoo at Grassmere • Parthenon • Ryman Auditorium • Schermerhorn Symphony Center • Shelby Street Bridge • Starwood Amphitheatre • Tennessee Performing Arts Center • Tennessee State Capitol • Tennessee State Museum • The Hermitage • Union Station • Vanderbilt Stadium Former: Opryland USA • Sulphur Dell

Current arenas in the National Hockey League
Western Conference		Eastern Conference
American Airlines Center | Gaylord Entertainment Center | GM Place | HP Pavilion | Honda Center | Jobing.com Arena | Joe Louis Arena | Nationwide Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Scottrade Center | Staples Center | United Center | Xcel Energy Center		Air Canada Centre | BankAtlantic Center | Bell Centre | Continental Airlines Arena | HSBC Arena | Madison Square Garden | Mellon Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Philips Arena | RBC Center | St. Pete Times Forum | Scotiabank Place | TD Banknorth Garden | Verizon Center | Wachovia Center

Current arenas in the Arena Football League
American Conference		National Conference
Allstate Arena | EnergySolutions Arena | Gaylord Entertainment Center | HP Pavilion | Pepsi Center | Staples Center | Thomas & Mack Center | US Airways Center | Van Andel Arena		American Airlines Center | Amway Arena | Frank Erwin Center | Kemper Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Nationwide Arena | New Orleans Arena | Philips Arena | St. Pete Times Forum | Wachovia Center1 | Wachovia Spectrum2
1The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games only at the Wachovia Center. 2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games only at the Wachovia Spectrum.