April 26 (UPI) -- The Tennesee Titans received final approval from the Metro Nashville City Council for a new $2.1 billion football stadium, the NFL franchise announced Wednesday.
"For more than 25 years, Nashville has been the Titans' home, and with the approval of the new stadium agreement, we are grateful to know the Titans will be a part of this great city and state for decades to come," Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a news release.
Groundbreaking for the enclosed stadium, which will be on Nashville's East Bank, is expected to start in early-to-mid-2024. The stadium is expected to open in 2027.
The Titans said the stadium deal includes a 30-year lease and non-relocation agreement between the Titans and the Sports Authority, the owner and landlord of the current and future facilities.
The new facility is expected to span 1.75 million square feet and will hold 60,000 spectators. The Titans said they are responsible for $840 million to fund the stadium, with another $500 million coming from Tennessee.
The remaining $760 million of the $2.1 billion budget will flow from revenue bonds from the Metro Sports Authority. Those bonds will be repaid through a 1% increase in Davidson County's hotel occupancy tax, in-stadium sales taxes, sales taxes from future on-campus developments, rent paid by the team and ticket taxes.
The Titans have played home games at their current Nissan Stadium site since 1999, when the building was known as Adelphia Coliseum. The franchise moved from to Tennessee from Houston in 1997.
The Titans played in Memphis and at Nashville's Vanderbilt Stadium before they moved to Adelphia Coliseum.
The Metro Nashville Council approved the stadium deal 26-12. The council meeting started Tuesday night and ended Wednesday morning.
Many Nashville citizens voiced opposition to the stadium agreement during public comments.
The Metro Nashville Sports Authority unanimously approved the stadium agreement April 4.
