Nashville Municipal Auditorium
The Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee. It opened October 7, 1962 with both an arena and exhibition hall. The former exhibition hall has been permanent home to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum since 2013.
Address
417 Fourth Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee
U.S.
Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee
Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee
9,700 in the round
9,432 in the round (reserved)
8,000 (basketball)
200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2)
Concrete
1959
1959–1962
October 7, 1962
1993, 2017
US$5 million
($50.4 million in 2023 dollars[1])
N.J. Olson
Nashville Bridge Company
Rock City Contracting Co.
Nashville Municipal Auditorium was previously home to various teams, most notably the Belmont Bruins of the National Collegiate Athletic Association from 2001 to 2003. The venue has hosted major events including the CMA Awards (1967), Volunteer Jam (1976–1985), WrestleWar (1989), No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie (1989), Starrcade (1994–1996), In Your House (1995), U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1997), SuperBrawl (2001). Slammiversary (2007), Lockdown (2012), CMT Music Awards (2022) and Ric Flair's Last Match (2022).
History[edit]
Construction[edit]
Designed by Marr & Holman and constructed by Nashville Bridge Company in 1962 at a cost of $5 million, the venue was the first public assembly hall in the Mid South with air conditioning.[2]
The venue was built on the site of Bijou Amusement Company’s former Bijou Theatre as part of an urban renewal plan. Bijou Theatre was frequented by African American audiences prior to desegregation.[3]
The structure contains a 306-foot diameter bowl with a spherically curved, clear-span roof. Within the facility is an underground exhibition hall and an arena with two tiers of spectator stands.[4]