CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The arena under construction in downtown Clarksville finally has an official name, or the start of one: F&M Bank.
The bank is buying naming rights to the facility, but it is not yet decided whether it will be called the F&M Bank Arena, F&M Bank Event Center or, as some jokingly suggested at the announcement Tuesday afternoon, the F&M Bank Hippodrome.
Key players in the decision gathered at the top floor of the bank for the announcement, including Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, F&M Bank CEO and President Sammy Stuard, Nashville Predators CEO Sean Henry, Austin Peay State University Athletics Director Gerald Harrison, and Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts.
Ever since the arena was proposed in March 2017, it has been referred to as the Multi-Purpose Event Center, or MPEC. But as early as April 2019, residents got a hint that the MPEC name might not stick, when Durrett outlined a series of revenue streams to pay for the arena, one of which would be the sale of naming rights.
Landing with F&M was a natural choice, Henry said Tuesday. “This was the easiest thing we’ve ever done.
“F&M Bank was going to be at the center of everything we’re doing,” he said, and that showed in all of their discussions. “We couldn’t be more proud to be working with the company that everyone turns to when they need things.
“Thank you for caring, and thank you for saying yes,” Henry said.
Stuard said that for over 30 years, the bank has been proud to be part of the growth of the community. “We love being here, we love being part of it, and we like to be called on in order to help.”
He said from the start, F&M knew they wanted their name on the project.
“This is the beginning, I think, of the next phase of the success of Clarksville, Tennessee, Montgomery County, so we’re glad to be on the ground floor of this.”
The amount F&M is paying for the multi-year naming rights has not been disclosed. The deal has been arranged with Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment, which is owned and operated by Predators Holdings.
New home for APSU athletics
The arena, with an estimated construction cost of $115 million, will be 250,000-square-foot facility with seating capacity for up to 6,000 people.
Montgomery County has contracted with Powers Management/Nashville Predators for day-to-day management. Austin Peay State University men’s and women’s basketball will be the primary leasing tenant, with the building serving as the home site for both basketball programs, including coach offices, lockers and training rooms.
The Dunn Center will be revamped for use by the volleyball program, mainly.
Harrison called it the beginning of a “dawn of a new day” for Austin Peay athletics, saying the arena will allow APSU to continue to grow, which is something that was desperately needed by the university.
“That building will be a lighthouse for college athletics,” Harrison said. “People will know when they come in that building, that they’re in for a fight.”
Included in the facility will be a main arena that can host ice skating events or basketball, plus concerts and more. A secondary arena will include the APSU practice court and a second, public ice sheet. The venue will hold roughly 6,000 fans for concerts, 5,500 for basketball games, and 5,000 for hockey games.
Growing vision for the arena
At Tuesday’s event, Henry praised Durrett for the vision that brought the arena this far.
“When we started talking about this, gosh almost 10 years ago now, any time I said anything, he’d say, ‘Well, that’s a good start, but it’s going to be bigger than that,” Henry said of Durrett.
“Every time we talked about a sheet of ice it became two sheets of ice. Two sheets of ice became maybe an arena around it. And every time we got together, he would bring more and better vision to what we were planning. And then he said we’re going to put it right in the middle of Clarksville.”
The plan was to drive economic activity that would have ripple effects throughout the region.
“And every time we worked together, he said, ‘We’re going to make it happen.’ Despite a lot of people saying, ‘No, it’s not going to happen,’ he always said it would,” Henry said.
Durrett thanked the Montgomery County Commission for their support of the project. “They heard the vision, they saw the vision, they supported the vision, and as we stand here today, another part of that vision is becoming a reality.”
He said F&M “took a big leap of faith” in 2006 when they built their five-story headquarters building in downtown Clarksville on Public Square, and they continue to “raise the bar” for downtown and the entire community.
What’s next
After the announcement, Henry told Clarksville Now the Predators plan to hold some practices at the arena, but the main focus will be “filling up the building” for Austin Peay basketball games.
He spoke of growing the sport of hockey in the area, and said about 35 high schools are part of hockey leagues in Middle Tennessee that use existing Predators-managed facilities.
The structure is expected to have a steel frame by the end of 2021, while the full project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.