NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
An ambitious plan backed by the co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and The House of Blues wants to turn the Tennessee State Fairgrounds into a large entertainment and dining complex, but some said what it doesn't do is the big issue.
Could the fairgrounds property be transformed into a state of the art entertainment complex? That's what Isaac Tigrett envisions and calls Nashville Skyline.
"The idea was to create a place where there was lots of music and first-class restaurants," said Tigrett in an interview posted at talkopolis.com. "It's a new type of idea that would create a destination location, not just for tourists but for the people of Nashville and the whole Mid-South area."
The Tennessee native said he wants to build a 4,000 to 5,000 seat concert hall and Imax theater.
The site would also have dining and dancing options, the world's longest bar, 14 concert stages and an RV park.
"It's probably the most nostalgic piece of property that exists in the city, and when I got here I found out it's been a hot potato for about five years," said Tigrett.
But it could be a hard sell for Tigrett.
Any proposal to redevelop the fairgrounds requires a two-thirds majority from the Metro Council following the referendum voters approved last year.
Councilman Duane Dominy, a fairgrounds supporter, said this plan doesn't seem to gel with the voters' desires to keep the property for fairs, expos and racing because it seems to not include any of those functions.
"They made it clear in the referendum with 71 percent of the vote to keep the current uses," said Dominy.
Dominy doesn't want to totally nix any proposal, rather he wants to know more and see whether or not the developers would work on a compromise.
"That's the other silver lining of this proposal is it brings back the discussion of what we ought to do with this property," said Dominy.
The Metro government is working on a master plan for the fairgrounds that should be done early next year.
At this point, they aren't entertaining any ideas, but there will probably be a time and place for that next year.
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