Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League.
Ownership Designed by HOK Sport (now Populous) in conjunction with the Nashville-based architecture/engineering firm Hart Freeland Roberts, INC., it was designed at an angle on the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue in Nashville in physical homage to the historic Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
Bridgestone Arena 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.
Events
The Predators hosted the NHL entry draft here in 2003 and 2023; it was also the location for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.
In 1997, it was the venue of the United States Figure Skating Championships, and in 2004 hosted the USA Gymnastics National Championships. It was the home of the Nashville Kats franchise of the Arena Football League from 1997 until 2001, and hosted the team's revival from 2005 to 2007, when the Kats franchise folded.
The arena has hosted college basketball events, including both men's (2001, 2006, 2010) and women's tournaments of the Southeastern Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference. Nashville will serve as a primary venue for the SEC men's basketball tournament nine times between 2015 and 2025 (2015–2017, 2019–2021, and 2023–2025) after the SEC signed a long-term agreement with the Nashville Sports Council in 2013. It hosted the 2014 NCAA Women's Final Four, the 2018 SEC women's basketball tournament and will host again in 2022 and 2026.
In odd-numbered years, the arena was regularly one of eight sites to host the first and second rounds of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament for the first ten years of its existence, though it was taken out of the rotation for several years, partly due to the obsolete octagonal mid-1990s-style scoreboard that hung above the arena floor. It was replaced in the summer of 2007 by a new $5 million scoreboard and digital control room. The NCAA Tournament returned to Nashville in 2012.
Beginning in 2002, the arena hosted a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Premier Series event every year (except in 2005 and 2006) through 2019 and again in 2021. The event moved to the Arena in 2002 after having previously occupied the Municipal Auditorium from 1993 through 2001. Since 2022, Bridgestone Arena is the home venue of the Nashville Stampede; one of ten bull riding teams of the PBR Team Series held during the summer and autumn in the United States.
The venue has also hosted numerous concerts and religious gatherings. Beginning in 2006, the Country Music Association Awards have been held in the arena, after the awards show moved from the Grand Ole Opry House with a one-year stop in New York City at Madison Square Garden in 2005.
The arena has held a list of UFC events, beginning with UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann on April 1, 2009. The UFC returned to the venue on January 20, 2012 for UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. On August 8, 2015, the arena held UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux. Two years later, the venue hosted UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov on April 22, 2017. The arena hosted UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis on March 23, 2019. The UFC returned to the arena five years later for UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font on August 5, 2023. The venue most recently hosted UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Teixeira on July 12, 2025.
Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, the Predators did not host any games that season until January 19, 2013. Instead, the arena hosted a Southern Professional Hockey League preseason game between the only other Tennessee pro hockey franchise, the Knoxville Ice Bears, and their cross-border rivals Huntsville Havoc on October 20.
Every late May since 2025, Bridgestone Arena has hosted the Music City Rodeo, Nashville's own annual rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The three-day event consists of a daily rodeo performance followed by a concert by a famous country music artist.
Arena information Bridgestone Arena has a seating capacity of 17,159 for ice hockey, 19,395 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 and a boxing card since its opening.
The seating configuration is notable for the oddly-shaped south end, which features two large round roof support columns, no mid-level seating, and only one level of suites, bringing the upper-level seats much closer to the floor.
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. The arena also features of space in a trade show layout.
Nate Bargatze set the attendance record on April 15, 2023, with 19,365 fans in attendance. The previous record (19,292) had been set six weeks earlier by Morgan Wallen. Kacey Musgraves set the record for the highest attendance for a headlining woman, with 18,373 fans during the Oh, What a World: Tour.
Notable events Besides hosting the Nashville Predators, because of its location near Music Row and Nashville's role as the center of country music, Bridgestone Arena has seen many other famous performers and events:
CMT Music Awards (annually 2000–2005; 2009–2016; 2018–2019; 2021) 2002 WWE Judgment Day PPV May 19, 2002 WWE Smackville PPV July 27, 2019 2003 NHL entry draft June 21, 2003 North American Youth Congress August 5–7, 2009 CMA Awards (annually 2006–present, except in 2020 which was held in the nearby Music City Center as it followed the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic) 61st National Hockey League All-Star Game January 31, 2016 2017 Stanley Cup Finals Game 3, 4, and 6; June 2017
Concerts (not complete list)
DateArtistTour / Concert NameOpening ActSeptember 4, 1997Mary J. BligeShare My World TourUsherApril 12, 2000Bruce Springsteen & The E Street BandBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour August 5, 2004 Hilary Duff Most Wanted Tour Haylie DuffNovember 11, 2004MetallicaMadly in Anger with the World TourGodsmackJune 12, 2005Destiny's ChildDestiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It January 17, 2007 Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium World Tour Gnarls BarkleyMarch 18, 2007Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveShowJuly 18, 2007BeyoncéThe Beyoncé Experience November 23, 2007 Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Tour Jonas BrothersFebruary 28, 2008Linkin ParkMinutes to Midnight World TourFebruary 29, 2008Kid RockRock N' Roll Revival Tour Rev RunAugust 21, 2008Bruce Springsteen & The E Street BandMagic TourJuly 31, 2009Green Day21st Century BreakdownKaiser Chiefs September 12, 2009 Taylor Swift Fearless Tour Gloriana Kellie PicklerOctober 28, 2009KissAlive 35 World TourBuckcherryNovember 18, 2009Bruce Springsteen & The E Street BandWorking on a Dream Tour November 25, 2009 Miley Cyrus Wonder World Tour Metro Station April 21, 2010 Bon Jovi The Circle Tour Dashboard Confessional August 11, 2010 Justin Bieber My World Tour December 5, 2010 Michael Bublé Crazy Love Tour Naturally 7February 18, 2011Kid RockBorn Free TourJamey Johnson, Ty Stone, Sheryl Crow April 3, 2011 Rush Time Machine Tour August 17, 2011 Maroon 5 Train 2011 Summer Tour PJ Morton June 21, 2011 New Kids on the Block Backstreet Boys NKOTBSB Tour Jordin Sparks Ashlyne Huff July 3, 2011 Mötley Crüe Glam-A-GeddonPoison