The Music City Center: What We Know Now (And It Ain't Good!)

Metro employees have gone two years without a cost-of-living increase or longevity pay, even though the cost of gas, food, and health insurance continues to skyrocket. And yet, Mayor Dean and the Chamber of Commerce continue to push forward with a new Convention Center and Hotel that they are calling the “Music City Center” without a fact-based analysis that addresses major questions about whether Nashville actually needs a new facility and who will be responsible for paying for it.

While there is a lot we don’t know about the Music City Center, here’s what we do know.

Under the current agreement, Metro would have to pay all their obligations (debt service, bondholders, etc.) BEFORE any other of its obligations. That means if the MCC project underperforms, the city still has to pay its debts before Metro employees get raises. This would affect funding for General Hospital, Metro Social Services, Metro Health Department, Metro Action Commission, and all other agencies that rely on Metro subsidies to operate. That nearly guarantees the programs will be cut and layoffs will follow.

Metro Schools would also take a hit. Sales taxes make up about 1/3 of funding for our schools. It appears now that the sales tax from the existing Convention Center and Renaissance Hotel could be redirected from the General Fund to pay for the project. Since overall sales tax revenues are going down, then it’s going to have to be made up and its likely to be our schools who are going to suffer.

Right now, the MCC proposal would include building a hotel on the property. Aside from the fact about whether the government should be getting into the hotel business, the likely company to run it would be Marriott. Marriott is one of the worst anti-union hotels in the country and has been fined tens of millions of dollars for violating workers’ right to organize and wage-and-hour laws.

Speaking of Marriott, the current proposals for the MCC would ensure that Marriott would get paid by the city if there was not full hotel capacity. That’s right—in hard times, your raise would be put at risk to prop up an anti-union company.

Notwithstanding these areas of concern, the Mayor’s Office keeps pushing forward with a publicly-funded hotel and Convention Center. It’s obvious to everyone that the economy is far different now than when all of the positive scenarios were put forth by the project’s supporters. It is time for current, credible, objective information that taxpayers can use to make an informed decision about Nashville’s largest public works project ever.

People need to understand the full impact such a large project will have on Metro’s budget, property taxes, and how this project will affect Metro employees, Metro retirees, and Davidson County taxpayers. That discussion hasn’t happened yet and it needs to start right now.