Music City Center Announces to Celebrate Grand Opening from May 19-20

By Sonia Torres

            NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Grand Opening festivities for the new Music City Center will be held Sunday and Monday May 19-20 at Fifth Avenue South and Demonbreun Street, with Sheryl Crow headlining a free concert.

            Construction on the Music City Center began in January 2010, and it will officially open to the public on May 19. According to the Music City Center’s Facebook page, the massive 2.1-million-square-foot convention center contains 353,000 square feet of exhibit space, 1.2 million square feet of public space, and a parking garage holding 1,800 parking spaces.

            Services provided by the convention center will be focusing on local events and social catering.

            “The building will also be great for out of town conventions," said Nashville Convention Center Authority Communications Manager Holly McCall. "There are 32 truck docks to make loading in and out for conventions and trade shows easy (the old center has six) and four ramps so trucks can drive directly onto the exhibit hall floor. Convention planners tell us they are excited about our exhibit hall, which has more than 300 floor boxes, so booths can plug into electricity, water, compressed air, and data services right in the middle of the exhibit hall.”

            Grand opening festivities for the public will include a free open house, a street party, live music, and outdoor concerts.

            Attendees can visit the center’s Grand Ballroom at 3 p.m. Sunday to hear a featured performance by the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony. Country superstar Phil Vassar and the band Ten Out of Tenn will later perform in the plaza area outside the center.

            A ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Karl Dean will be held at 9 a.m. Monday at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Demonbreun Street. Pop superstar Sheryl Crow will later headline the free street party and concert. The festivities will end with a fireworks finale at 9 p.m. 

             “To build this building during a down time in the economy and take a chance on success was a huge step for the city that is paying off," said McCall. "I hope this will be an example to college students – in an esoteric way – that calculated risks in life can pay huge dividends down the road. Students, along with other residents, will have ample reason to come to the building. Art lovers will be drawn to our collection, which will be one of the largest, if not the largest, permanent collection in the city. For students in architecture and engineering, the building will serve as an example that a government building doesn’t have to be a boring box.”

            More information regarding the Grand Opening events can be found on Nashville Music City Center’s official page at http://www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com.

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