Less Than 4 Years Since Opening, Music City Center Set for $20M Expansion

NASHVILLE, TN — Just three-and-half-years after its grand opening, the $623 million Music City Center is getting a $20 million expansion. The addition, which had not been mentioned by Mayor Megan Barry's administration, was approved by the nine-member Convention Center Authority Thursday.

The project will add new food and beverage space at Eighth Avenue and Demonbreun and expand the convention center's exhibit space and the concourse outside the Davidson Ballroom. Work will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by year's end.

The expansion will add 5,000 square feet on the concourse, 4,350 square feet of retail and kitchen space and 2,000 square feet in pre-function space, according to The Tennessean.

Charles Starks, president and CEO of the Music City Center, told the Nashville Business Journal the expansion will help the MCC keep up with competing facilities from around the country.

"Usually at three-and-a-half years old, nobody spends $20 million on expansions and renovations. We've said we are going to stay state-of-the-art. We're always looking for, 'What is the slight edge?'" Starks told the NBJ. "People aren't going to say, I've got family coming into town, and we're going to go eat at Music City Center. Absolutely not. [But] within that planning community, we believe this will be received as a big deal. We can show them we're listening."

Image via Wikimedia Commons user Pjgdds, used under Creative Commons