CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Nashville Predators and APSU Athletics joined local officials for an official groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the future Multipurpose Event Center.
The new facility, whose value is estimated at $105 million, will serve as the new home for Austin Peay State University’s basketball program and will be managed by the Nashville Predators.
“[This project] has been through a pandemic, two county commissions, two Austin Peay Presidents, and two Austin Peay athletic directors, but the movement has never stopped,” said Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett in his speech to those involved in the project.
“This day is not about a building; it’s about vision and it’s about transformation. Mayor Durrett cast a vision five or six years ago and he said ‘follow me and we’ll get this done…’ Now we stand here today preparing to break ground on a beautiful building… We’re not just transforming this city block. We’re transforming our community from “We Can” to “We Will’,” said Mayor Joe Pitts.
The site will serve as a new home arena and practice court for Austin Peay’s basketball program, providing state-of-the-art tools and classrooms to student-athletes. APSU, which has signed a 30-year lease on the event center, will be the primary tenant during the lease period, though the facility will be open to public use.
“I am confident that, without question, we will have the best facility in the country for basketball,” added APSU Athletic Director Gerald Harrison. “We will recruit outstanding student-athletes that may not have been interested in Austin Peay before. We will provide our coaches with the best classrooms possible… to prepare our students not only to win… but to win championships.”
The Nashville Predators (Powers Management) will manage the facility, officially bringing the Predators brand into Clarksville-Montgomery County. Nashville Predators Vice President, Daniel Butler, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to be managing this facility… and to bring exciting events to Montgomery County and having kids and adults zooming around the ice.”
The Multi-Purpose Event Center is scheduled to open its doors in the fall of 2022, with construction moving forward in the coming months. The primary arena is expected to seat between 4,900 and 6,400 people and will be able to accommodate a broad range of events. The secondary arena will include the APSU practice court and a second, public ice sheet.
Casey Williams contributed to this report.