East Bank Authority legislation back in play

Legislation to create a special authority to oversee the 130-acre East Bank area surrounding the Titans stadium in Nashville could be reaching the finish line, even as outside forces try to wave a caution flag.

Lawmakers in the Senate delayed the measure, Senate Bill 2968, sponsored by Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, after finance committee Chair Bo Watson, R-Hixson, had several concerns about the legislation.

In the House, Local Government Committee Chair John Crawford, R-Bristol/Kingsport, appears to be satisfied after sending the legislation to the comptroller’s office for review. It could go back before his panel this week for reconsideration after he requested the Calendar & Rules Committee take the rare move of sending it backward rather than to a floor vote.

North Carolina-based Speedway Motorsports LLC, which owns Bristol Motor Speedway, was supposedly a key factor in the bill’s snail-like pace. The racing company wanted state lawmakers to use the East Bank Authority as leverage to force Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to strike a deal to help fund renovations at Nashville Fairgrounds racetrack.

Former Nashville Mayor John Cooper struck a deal with the company in 2022 but failed to get it approved by the Metro Nashville Council before he left office. But Joe Hall, a representative for the company, said Wednesday the group is not trying to derail the bill.

Another push involves giving the governor and Senate and House speakers appointments to the East Bank Authority. The current version of the bill includes the secretary of state, comptroller and state treasurer as nonvoting ex-officio members of the authority. The Nashville mayor and council would appoint the seven voting members.

Another problem is GOP rancor about Oliver, who openly criticized Republican senators after they passed a bill overturning a Memphis City Council ordinance ending “pretextual” police stops. The family of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death by police officers in January 2023, wanted to find a way to avert confrontation between officers and the public, but the legislature balked at the city ordinance.

Oliver told the Lookout the private act for the East Bank Authority had unanimous support from the Davidson County legislative delegation.

“It’s enabling legislation so the council and mayor can push forward,” Oliver said.

But in the last couple of weeks, the plan lost some traction.

Republican Sen. Mark Pody, who represents a portion of eastern Davidson County, removed himself as a cosponsor because of concerns about eminent domain and said he wants to make sure it keeps Metro Nashville from condemning people’s homes.

Under Senate rules, private acts are to have unanimous support from their legislative delegation. Still, Pody predicted Wednesday that the bill would pass.

Hanging over the authority bill is O’Connell’s negotiation with Speedway Motorsports, first reported by the Nashville Banner. O’Connell opposed the deal to publicly finance $1.26 billion of the $2.1 billion for a new NFL stadium for the Titans, arguing that his administration would focus more on neighborhoods than on sports stadium deals.

The final block is Watson, who said he received more questions about the bill than he and the sponsor likely expected. He pointed toward questions about eminent domain, the entity’s function, a potential amendment about protecting the property from homeless and transient people and unauthorized immigrants, responsibility for grants and bonds, and the addition of more state representatives on the board.

“We just decided to take a longer look at it than maybe we might ordinarily,” Watson said.

Giving the Senate and House speakers appointments is reminiscent of last year’s uproar about state efforts to take over the Metro airport, sports and convention center authorities, most of which were found unconstitutional by courts.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, the Republican Senate speaker from Oak Ridge, said through a spokesperson Wednesday he did not request appointment power, nor is he opposed to the bill. McNally hadn’t heard from Speedway Motorsports either.

Asked if the authority’s creation is being held hostage by the Speedway group, Watson said he didn’t know anything about the situation.