By Kaitlin Housler
A one percent increase to Davidson County’s Hotel Occupancy Tax rate will begin next month to begin paying for the approved Tennessee Titans $2.1 billion stadium deal, according to the Metro Nashville Finance Department.
Nashville currently charges a hotel occupancy privilege tax of $2.50 and 6 percent on hotel room stays.
The increased hotel tax rate will be used to repay $760 million in bonds from Nashville’s Sports Authority and $500 million in bonds from the State of Tennessee approved for the stadium project.
The rate increase has been marketed as “user-generated” and “tourism-oriented,” meaning that the new tax rate is intended to predominantly affect tourists who stay in Davidson County hotels instead of Nashville residents.
The increased rate, beginning July 1, is on top of “all other taxes and fees currently levied by the Metropolitan Government,” the finance department notes, adding, “If the Sports Authority of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County has not issued revenue bonds related to the construction of a new, enclosed football stadium by January 1, 2024, the additional 1 percent Hotel Occupancy Privilege Tax will expire on such date.”
In addition to the hotel tax increase, 100 percent of state and local sales tax for sales at the stadium, a $3 ticket tax for stadium events, and 50 percent of state and local taxes in a 130-acre zone drawn around the new stadium will be used to repay the bonds issued for the new facility.
The stadium deal, officially approved on April 26 by the Metro Nashville City Council, has been widely opposed by many Davidson County residents.
A poll conducted in May found that 56.9 percent of the 500 Davidson County voters surveyed opposed the stadium deal, while only 28.3% supported it and 14.9% were unsure.
The stadium is set to open in 2027.
