Nashville Predators, Metro To Announce New Ice Center In Bellevue Thursday

BELLEVUE, TN — Metro officials and Nashville Predators brass will announce a partnership to build a new ice center at the site of the old Bellevue Mall 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Similar to the Ford Ice Center that opened in Antioch nearly three years ago — part of the redevelopment of the area around Hickory Hollow Mall — the new facility will have a pair of ice rinks as hockey teams and figure skaters have struggled to find ice time in the wake of the closure of the A-Game Sportsplex in Franklin. Currently, there are two sheets of ice at Centennial Sportsplex and a pair at the Ford Ice Center.

The new facility will be part of the massive One Bellevue Place mixed-use development underway at the old mall site. Metro already plans a new regional community center at the development.

To build the facility in Antioch, Metro laid out $14 million. The Predators pay rent between $250,000 and $350,000 on a 20-year-lease, with ticket taxes collected at Bridgestone Arena paying off the debt service.