Nissan Stadium. Photo: Gabriel Tovar

The Tennessee state legislature is considering allowing the city of Nashville to increase its hotel-motel tax in order to help pay for the new Titans stadium, according to a report from Axios‘ Nat Rau.

This would mean that the tourists not residents, will be helping pay for the new stadium.

The city’s current hotel-motel tax is at 6 percent, but state law allows the rate to go as high as 8 percent. This proposed law would raise it to 7 percent.

Increasing the tax by 1 percent would generate about $10 million annually, according to the bill’s fiscal analysis in the Axios report.  The existing 6 percent tax created $60 million in the last pre-pandemic tax year.

Based on the number of new hotel rooms, average rental rate and big events already on the books, the increase could generate $17 million to $20 million annually, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. CEO Butch Spyridon told Axios.

Axios‘ report comes just weeks after Gov. Bill Lee proposed that Tennessee would give $500 million in state funds as part of his amended budget to help pay for an enclosed stadium. The estimated cost for a brand new, domed stadium is in the ballpark of $2 billion.

Nissan Stadium. Photo: By Donald Page/Tennessee Titans

As momentum towards the building of a new Titans stadium is growing, Tennessee governor Bill Lee has proposed giving the organization $500 million in bonds, according to a report by Axios‘ Nate Rau.

According to the report, the money given to the Titans will come with a stipulation that the stadium will be domed, with no open-air stadium and no renovations.

These updates come after the Titans initially planned to renovate the stadium for an estimated $600 million, but the organization later discovered the estimate to renovate is close to $1 billion while building a new stadium is about $2 billion.

Mayor John Cooper has made it clear that the city will not be financially supporting the construction of the new stadium, according to the Axios report. Cooper also refused to use public funds to support the construction of the Nashville SC stadium when he initially took office back in 2020.

With a new stadium on the horizon, the Titans, as well as the city, will be aligned with venues like SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The Titans aren’t the only team in line for a new stadium. The Buffalo Bills are receiving $850 million from the state of New York and Eerie County, as well as a 30-year lease from Governor Kathy Hochul, according to the Buffalo News. The NFL will also loan $200 million to Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula.

Dates for construction to begin or complete have not been announced. Titans CEO Burke Nihill stated that the organization plans an 18-month design phase and a 30-to-31-month construction phase with the hopes to be completed by 2026, according to a report from the Nashville Post.

The next step is to find the additional funding for the stadium, which may be between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. Any and all decisions will need to be reviewed and approved by the Nashville Sports Authority.

Pictured: Wide receiver Robert Woods. Photo: By Donald Page/Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are wasting no time building their offense, and have officially traded for LA Rams wide receiver Robert Woods.

Woods will replace the recently dropped Julio Jones as the Titans No. 1 receiver. In return, the Rams received the Titans 2023 sixth-round pick.

Woods just completed his ninth NFL season and has played in 125 career games with 115 starts while spending time with the Rams (2017-2021) and the Buffalo Bills (2013-2016). Woods has recorded 570 catches for 7,077 yards and 35 touchdowns throughout his career. He also has 74 career rushing attempts for 507 yards and five touchdowns.

In a press conference with the Titans today (March 23), Woods expressed his excitement to join the team and shared that the Titans were his top choice when the Rams asked where he’d like to be traded.

“I am joining a great offense, a great team,” Woods explained. “I am really excited to get to work with Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown, and everyone to get this thing rolling. We have a great back on the backfield, and you have to have a good running back to get the passing game going. I think Derrick Henry will complement what I do and what we’ll do in the passing game, especially with Tannehill and T.D. [Todd Downing] calling plays. It should be an exciting group.”

A two-time captain with the Rams, Woods totaled 367 receptions for 4,626 yards and 23 touchdowns in 68 games in five seasons in Los Angeles. Among all players (WR’s, TE’s, RB’s) with a minimum of 50 games between 2017-21, he ranked in the NFL’s top 12 with 5.4 receptions per game (12th), 68.0 receiving yards per game (12th) and 3.5 receiving first downs per game (11th). Among wide receivers during that span, his yards after the catch yardage total (1,992) ranked fifth in the NFL.

“I feel like this team has it all, and I feel like I can be that addition that can be a part of getting them over the hump,” Woods added. “They have been to the playoffs and now we have to finish it off and win a Super Bowl here.”

Woods is the latest offseason move the Titans have made. Tennessee has also agreed to terms with kicker Randy Bullock, tight end Austin Hooper, running back Dontrell Hilliard and cornerback Buster Skrine.