Rachel Guymon on The Tennessee Titans Stadium
Rachel Guymon is the Director of Special Events for the Tennessee Titans, where she orchestrates high-impact events and corporate partnerships at Nissan Stadium. In this episode, Rachel opens up about her role in transforming the stadium into a year-round entertainment destination and what fans can expect from the upcoming, state-of-the-art stadium set to debut in 2027.
About Rachel Guymon
Rachel Guymon is the Director of Special Events for the Tennessee Titans, where she oversees large-scale events, corporate partnerships, and private rentals at Nissan Stadium. Since joining the Titans in 2016, Rachel has been instrumental in building and growing the newly-formed Special Events Department, helping to transform the stadium into a premier year-round venue. She plays a crucial role in selling non-gameday event space, executing contracts, and soliciting repeat business for a variety of events, from small meetings to large concerts and everything in between.
Rachel’s career has spanned a variety of roles in event management. With nearly a decade of experience, Rachel brings expertise in event logistics, sponsorship activations, and guest experience design to ensure every event at Nissan Stadium is seamless and impactful.
In addition to her event responsibilities, Rachel serves as a liaison between the Titans organization and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Center, helping draw large tourism groups and conventions to the city. Her work has helped establish Nissan Stadium as a dynamic hub for not only Titans games but also concerts and other major events that reflect Nashville’s vibrant energy.
Looking ahead, Nissan Stadium is undergoing an exciting transformation with a new state-of-the-art facility set to open in 2027. The new stadium will offer the closest viewing experience of any NFL stadium, with seats 38% closer to the field, and an enclosed, translucent roof to keep fans dry in any weather. Fans can also enjoy expansive patio spaces with panoramic views of the city. Built with sustainability in mind, the stadium will feature frictionless concessions, nearly twice the amount of restrooms, and high-tech, eco-friendly materials to minimize waste and preserve energy and water. This world-class venue will host year-round events, elevating Nashville’s status as a premier destination for sports and entertainment, all while bringing the community together to create unforgettable memories.
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[00:00:00]
Spencer: Rachel Guymon, welcome to Signature Required.
Rachel: Thank you. Happy to be here.
Spencer: You are the director of special events for the Tennessee Titans. And you basically have like a couple million square feet behind us here filming in the Tennessee Titans [00:01:00] stadium. That's kind of your playground. I mean, that's an amazing job opportunity, job description that you get to just play here.
Spencer: Every day for any number of different things that come your way.
Rachel: It is. There's always something different happening in this building. Um, that's for sure. Right. My office is here. So that's, that's a cool wow factor moment, you know, pulling up to work every day. Right. Um, but we do cool things and, and things that people don't know about either.
Rachel: You know, they're not necessarily always, always public. So a lot going on here.
Spencer: I think that's probably a big misconception that people have about The Titans, the stadium is they think, okay, well, there's eight regular season games and a couple of preseason games, and maybe there's a concert or two a year.
Spencer: And so they might say, okay, at a 365 days, this place is busy 12 days a year. So help correct that misconception. Cause I know that this place does not pay for itself 12 days a year.
Rachel: Yeah. I will say the team that I help lead, it focuses on all those other days. So we try to activate and be busy [00:02:00] 365. Um, we are, we are an open venue.
Rachel: We, we like to do unique things, whether that is, you know, a A small 30 person meeting in a press box to a large actually a couple weeks ago, we had a 4000 person, uh, private event out on the field and in various locations throughout the building. So we kind of do a little bit of all of it. Um, you know, no, no event is too small.
Rachel: No, no private event is too big. You know, they're It's There's lots of corporate groups that have, you know, masses across the country. And a lot of times they're meeting in Nashville because they have a national conference or something like that. And we help, we help kind of fill that void of something unique and different and, and local to, to the state and to, to this area.
Rachel: What
Spencer: would you guess? Do you think you do something a hundred days at a 365? Like some activity of some level, what would be your guess at a 365?
Rachel: Yeah, I'd say, I mean, We have a couple different departments that focus on different types of events too. So if you're adding in some internal events and some, you know, community events and things like that, there's, there's some other departments that focus solely on those.
Rachel: I would say we're, we're up there [00:03:00] in the almost, you know, 300 of the 365, there's always something going on. Um, but the, the department that I, that I sit in specifically focuses on those third party, you know, corporate groups, someone that can, can come rent some, some space within this building. It's a, we're We're closer to about 100 of those, um, you know, give or take some months are crazy busy, some are a little slower.
Rachel: You know, It ebbs and flows a little bit too, with our, our major event schedule, because, you know, we have a concert season per se, right? So in the summer, we're really, really busy with our major events. So we're a little bit lighter on our private events. And then vice versa. You know, spring is we don't have football in this building.
Rachel: a little bit more sparse in the concert side. So we actually have a ton of private events in the spring. So sometimes the, volume and what we're doing at least per month is based a little bit on scheduling. Um, but a lot of times it's driving the dates are driven by the corporate group that, you know, maybe their, their annual conferences, but Always in May, they're going to pick a May day, right?
Rachel: With, [00:04:00] within this building for us. So it's something new and different every day, which is what makes it exciting and fun. And, just, just a different, right? Like, no two days are the same. Um, coming to work is, is fun.
Rachel: the new building I'm very excited about. We have a roof. Um, so
Spencer: you've got 2. 2 billion reasons to be excited about it
Rachel: too. Exactly, exactly. So, um, at least on this, on the special event side, we are the most excited about having a roof and climate controlled interior bowl. We're going to be able to do a lot more events out on the field and not that we can't do them now.
Rachel: it just comes with, you know, Maybe a day like today where it's a little bit chilly outside. And then that impacts a guest experience, whether we can help it or not. And I think we'll just have a little bit less of those, unexpected elements, truly elements, um, outside that I'm excited about in the new building.
Spencer: So your role, how long have you served your role? How long has your department been a department? Walk me through just some of some of those pieces for you personally. Yeah,
Rachel: absolutely. Um, I have been here. I'm [00:05:00] going on my 10th football season with the Titans. So this upcoming season will be 10, which is wild to say.
Rachel: I like how you counted
Spencer: in football seasons.
Rachel: It is weird because you're coming up on like nine years of working, but you, you're, you count it in football seasons or a football team. Right. Um, so yeah, so I'm coming up on my 10th season. we, we did kind of sparse events here and there before I got here. we, we had a smaller staff when I got here.
Rachel: So it was kind of, if you happen to get to the right person, they, they They happen to say maybe we're available in something. We didn't do events. There just wasn't a formal department or or focus on bringing some of those elements in so I was hired back in the day to to kind of help start that up.
Rachel: It's not to say we didn't do him. We just didn't necessarily have like this, robust like focus on it. So yeah, about about 10 years ago I was hired to do that to create something that you know, there was maybe a little bit of a gap to fill. And how can we get people into this building and get them excited about doing something, something different.
Rachel: [00:06:00] And hopefully what we're doing on the special event side is maybe it's people that either aren't football fans or maybe they're not even from Nashville. They're in town for a conference, something like that. hopefully we get them in this building when maybe they have never been to an NFL stadium.
Rachel: They have a great experience. And ultimately maybe they turn into Titans fans because of that, right? Like we're their first, look at an NFL team or an NFL stadium or something like that. So that's, the ultimate goal is we're bringing people in, creating awesome memories, having them have a great experience, and then maybe turning them into a season ticket holder down the road.
Rachel: I will say that's happened. Some of our events we've ended the night and they've said. Can you get me a contact with your ticket office? I want to become a season ticket holder. So that was, that was a win. I will say this happened a few times.
Spencer: You know, it was such a war to get the Titans here to begin with.
[00:07:00] Spencer: So I'm born and raised here. I was here on opening day when it first opened. And I've seen the battle that it took to get them here to begin with, because there was a big debate of what it would benefit or not benefit Nashville, the state, what the tax implications would be, the economic, you know, everybody's forecasting what they think it's going to be.
Spencer: But at the end of the day, you have some stories of success when an NFL team comes to a city and other times where it's not successful at all. And I think the jury has fully settled on this one to say the Titans have been an enormous economic driver for the state. And I think people's default is probably For Nashville, but can you help drive some distinction that we're the Tennessee Titans rather than There's a lot of other cities that have the team named after them.
Spencer: You know, the Atlanta Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, The Nashville
Carli: Predators,
Spencer: you know? Yeah, that's interesting. So talk about the, the Tennessee aspect to what you do.
Rachel: Yeah, I think that's a, that's a big goal internally of our team is making sure we, are the Tennessee Titans.
Rachel: We [00:08:00] represent the state. We represent people all over the state and not just Nashville. Like, yes, our headquarters is Nashville. Yes, our home stadium is Nashville, and we love the Nashville flair, but like that extends across the state, right? There's not just country music in Nashville. There's not just southern hospitality in Nashville that is across Tennessee so I I would say that we try really hard to lean into that
Rachel: Ahead of season and throughout the year, we do road shows throughout the state with our marketing team and players and really trying to make sure that we, we go to the people. We didn't always ask people to come to us so I think our team does a really good job about that leaning into Tennessee.
Rachel: We are the Tennessee Titans. You know, we're not the Nashville Titans. We love Nashville, right? But, but yeah, it's, it's bigger than just that.
Spencer: Yeah. Cause I think the NFL also took a big gamble. In bringing the Titans here to Nashville. I mean, honestly, Nashville had no business having a professional team at the time that they came here.
Spencer: And you
Rachel: probably have a great perspective there. I, it was before I moved here. Right. So like Warren and Ray's, I'm sure [00:09:00] you have a great perspective on that. It's
Spencer: a really small market. And I think it's also, when you look geographically at Tennessee, there's no professional team in Kentucky. There's no professional team in Alabama.
Spencer: There's questions of like, okay, we're actually drawing a meaningful fan base, both Kentucky and Alabama, big football states, like clearly SEC care about football. And then obviously you have Tennessee and we do pull a lot of events. It seems like fan base, everything from the surrounding states that help make this place, um, worth it.
Spencer: And I think that's also part of the, Real narrative behind 2. 2 billion for the new stadium is to say this is a it's kind of like rolling back the clock a couple decades to say, Hey, The Titans proved to be great stewards of the investment of the state and of the tax dollars and, you know, welcome to inflation.
Spencer: We can't build this [00:10:00] place. Even if we wanted to build this thing again, we couldn't build it. Yeah, it wouldn't be the same. And so, you know, for the, the, the investment. Talk a little bit about the new stadium because, you know, we're here at the old stadium filming the construction noise is going behind us for the new stadium.
Spencer: So when everyone's talking to you about, okay, what should we expect? But maybe they haven't had the chance to, you know, get the overview. What should we look forward to in this new stadium? And when is it gonna be done?
Rachel: Yeah, so I'm looking forward to early 2027 opening. Um, and that that is definitely something we're aiming for and excited for in terms of of event, you know, rollout and bookings and all the things.
Rachel: I think the. The unique thing and, and kind of difference about the new stadium is that everything seems to have a little bit of a, look and feel and, and, vibe of almost a, what I would call like more of a speakeasy. Like it's kind of cool, warm warm blue tones. Right. Two tone blue, like lean into the titans a little [00:11:00] bit on, that in terms of color scheme, but like adding in like the leathers and the kind of the darker moody vibes for the, for the decor. Oh, that's cool so I just, I think it, it just. Every space in the new building is going to just be a totally different elevated experience that no one's necessarily had.
Rachel: But I wouldn't even compare it to this building, right? Like it's, it is a totally different experience. it is a totally different venue. It has way more hospitality spaces, actually less seating so less seating capacity in the new building, but it's like 15 less, right? But you're also closer to the, To the field.
Rachel: So it feels a little more intimate in that way. You're closer to the action. I think it's always
Spencer: like 38 percent closer. I mean, it's like meaningfully not like it's 5%. I mean, you're gonna feel it. Absolutely. And
Rachel: I think the cool thing is, right, we have club spaces in this building and we activate those on non game day as well.
Rachel: But, um, way more opportunities in the new building, lots of additional club spaces, lots of lots of cool hospitality areas. I think the cool thing on Private event side to is it's a lot of [00:12:00] large space that actually has great connecting points. So lots of, escalators, lots of elevators, lots of people, movers to get from one area to the next and kind of flow between.
Rachel: So I'm, I know I'm the most excited about that because you can do bigger and more events that way, right on the, on the private event side. But, I think, the unique experience there is where we're leaning into, into the local flair, right? That's, that's, Live music elements. That's local cuisine. That is the the cool kind of like I was mentioning.
Rachel: The decor is the the moody, darker, maybe some blue tones like the leather. the look and feel of this building is going to be, a very elevated experience from the time you step in that that what we're calling our main front door area, into the into the building.
Carli: One thing I love about the Titans.
Carli: And since I've been with Spence, I mean, our first ever date Love that. Same for me and my husband. So we've been going to football games. It's like the fabric of our relationship is football, right? And we love so much to [00:13:00] bring our kids to Titans games. I am really excited about the weather control because our little guy wilts at preseason games.
Carli: It's just so warm. Yes. Yes. So that will be a huge upgrade. Well, and
Rachel: Nashville has a true four seasons, right? So the beginning of football, it is, it's 100 degrees. It's blazing. It is hot. And then by the end of season, it, it, It's freezing, right? It's negative temps sometimes. Oh, I have
Carli: pictures from Monday night football of us in full ski gear.
Carli: Yep. Yeah. So don't worry. I believe it. But is there anything else that you're particularly excited for activating families that maybe say, Hey, this is, we're thinking about purchasing tickets. My kids are at an age where we really would like to make this investment in experiential lifestyle with them, but maybe why is it going to be as family friendly in the new stadium?
Carli: Is it going to be too bougie? For kids to come in. What do you think? I think that's
Spencer: a really good question. Cause like, I think about the sounds too, and they have been so intentional at the sound stadium to offer a family experience and you can go there and literally not watch one pitch. And feel like that you [00:14:00] got value for your ticket and had a good time.
Spencer: So that, I really, I like that. That, that's a good question. You're
Rachel: totally correct on that. I have kids as well. So I get it on the, on the family friendly side. I would say, um, you know, it's not going to be like a playground, right? In the new building or something like that. There's just going to be a ton of different, Options and elements of, you know, different price points, different levels of the building, different experiences in different parts of the building that, um, here you, we kind of have a pretty standard fixed opportunity in terms of seating and your experience in the current building, new building.
Rachel: There is. Um, there's a wide range of experiences, whether that is all inclusive kind of club spaces, whether that is suites, whether that's a standing room only option, um, there's a lot of, uh, unique ways to experience football in the new building. I wouldn't necessarily say I, I don't have a great answer for you on leaning in on, you know, You know, this perfect family experience or, or this is not, I don't know.
Rachel: Either way.
Carli: it may be too early, so that's fine.
Carli: But can you tell us if anybody that's really getting behind this [00:15:00] project and going to push like cool brands or local vendors that you feel really excited about their name being part of this build out?
Rachel: Yeah, well, we're, we're excited that. Nissan is our naming partner again, right? In the new building. So we have, we have Nissan stadium here, and then we have new Nissan stadium, right across the street.
Rachel: So excited about that. Our partnership team is, is constantly working on that now, to get new partners on board, existing partners coming back, those kinds of things. So, they're leaning into it. They're, they're definitely working hard. It's going to be cool. Yeah.
Spencer: Yeah. when you think about the economic impact of what you do, Talk a little bit about the job creation that's here, because I think that's another aspect that there's a lot of ways that stadiums across the country think about how they manage a budget.
Spencer: And you can hire people directly, you can outsource it, you can do a lot of different things. So talk a little bit about the community impact from a job [00:16:00] creation standpoint that you see.
Rachel: Sure so some stadiums across the country are management companies and things like that. We are the Titans managing the Titans Stadium.
Rachel: so that's a cool,, Not necessarily unique. Other stadiums are like that as well, but it's unusual but in a, in a great way where then we can put our, own spin and our own flair into everything we do when you're talking through, you know, job opportunities and things like that, right, it takes a lot of people to operate a game day, a lot of people to operate a concert, less on the special event side, right?
Rachel: Cause our, our numbers are less in terms of who's in the building at what time and it's off season but I do think that creates great opportunities, right? We have our, We have our event staff that operates all of our gates are security staff that operates on game day. We have our housekeeping staff.
Rachel: That is literally if you think through, you know, look behind you think through, how many entrances to all the seats behind, you know, the bombs to get down to the down to your seats. Someone is standing at all of those, right? And then you also have [00:17:00] roamers that And, and there's actually people in service level that are working behind the scenes that never, you, you don't necessarily even see them on game day.
Rachel: So I, I agree. There's a lot of, of job opportunities on game day, concert day, special events as well. And all of those, those things.
Spencer: And it's amazing. We walked here from the parking lot and went. Underneath the stadium. And I feel like that's a part that no one really appreciates that it's kind of a city under a city of the level of complexity and complexity.
Spencer: And so, you know, Carly and I are entrepreneurs and run a logistics business. And so our minds, just when we go into a place like that,
Rachel: that's what you notice. Right. I go somewhere else and I'm, I'm like thinking through, Ooh, okay. That's a cool vendor. I'm gonna have to think through that for our next event.
Rachel: You know, I'm another stilt walker. Let's put them on speed. Exactly.
Spencer: Yeah. I mean, underneath the stadium, like for me, Full blown 18 wheelers are rolling down there and you just forget that that yes, there's a product on the field, but [00:18:00] there is so much mechanical and I think people have gotten a little bit of feel for that in the construction of the new stadium because It was, was, 'cause you can
Carli: see it, it's above ground right now, right?
Carli: Yeah, that's right.
Spencer: And it was forever, before there was anything higher than ground level. Like a huge percentage of the work was stuff that's below ground. Mm-hmm . And all of the concrete and all the things that go below that. It, it, you probably, you're used to it now 'cause you've, you know, been doing it 10 years.
Spencer: But I have to feel like that. Touring people through that part, even just walking into the locker room. It's kind of a cool experience. I mean, is it old hat to you? Or is it still like, Hey, this is, this is pretty cool.
Rachel: It, I mean, it's cool. At the end of the day, work in a very cool space. Right. Um, I also come here every day.
Rachel: So you do sometimes get desensitized to it, like you said but that's the nice thing about unique events that come into this building is I'm on site visits all day, every day,
Carli: talking
Rachel: through projects. Potential events or events that are coming through or starting the planning process for events so I do get [00:19:00] the perspective of someone walking in for the first time, seeing this wow factor moment.
Rachel: So it's, it's good that it's a constant reminder of like, no, this is, this is awesome. It's a cool thing that, you know, you get to do it every day.
Carli: I do have a Question, just my event planner space. If somebody wanted to get married on the 50 yard line, like, I don't know that people realize you can do this.
Carli: How do they even go about having an event?
Rachel: Yeah, it starts with our team, right? So whether that is someone we've met at, hopefully we're, we're out networking and, and you know, our name to our face anyway, right? Cause we're, we're doing our jobs that way. But, our website is usually how people can find us in terms of photos and different things that we've, we've done across the years.
Rachel: but there's a submission form and, and truly that's where a lot of the conversations start. Starts. Hopefully they've either experienced an event and they want to learn more or, you know, someone told them about some cool experience they had here. And that's why people are, are, you know, thinking about us and, and unique ways to [00:20:00] use the building.
Rachel: But yeah, you absolutely can do that. We have had weddings on the 50. We have had all kinds of. Of life events, you know, a, a, a baby shower, all kinds of things like that. So you can, you could definitely do the personal event. Did the dad throw that baby shower? I think it was the family. It has been a couple of years now, but,, but yeah, if you, we've had groups that'll do, you know, small ceremony on the field and then do a reception in our club afterwards, or some will just do the reception because they were offsite at the church or something like that.
Rachel: So we've, we've done a handful of weddings. It's probably not our bread and butter. I would say, cause our, our, A lot of people like getting married in the fall, and our football season is, is the fall, right? So we have very few field days. Well, if you come from a football family, you're not allowed to get married in the fall.
Rachel: I agree.
Carli: I was expressly told there will be no fall wedding. Yep, I agree with that. No. Okay, first, nostalgia purposes. Let's say somebody grew up with this stadium. They love the Titans. When is the last time they could book some type of an event, whatever it is, corporate or personal, in this space?
Rachel: We probably don't have a, like, perfect, you know, This [00:21:00] is the date, right?
Rachel: Like this is the deadline we will be open and fully operational in this building until the new one is up and running as well. So, I mean, obviously that's at least early 2027, right. When, when new building is opened. but that is what we're excited about is that we still get to operate and do unique things in this building, but that's also the element of like, you know, do it now while you can, right.
Rachel: The next couple of years, that's, that's the last time you can host one. Your wedding on the 50. Right. That was a good pivot right there. Right. That was good. You went right into sales. Let's do it. You put
Spencer: some urgency right there.
Spencer: Don't wait. You never know. We could shut down tomorrow. You don't know. I do hope Rachel that when you all do close this place and rig it for demolition and all the rest, I hope that you all do an event. To auction off some parts of nostalgia for the stadium. I think it would be a big hit that may already be in the plan, but just in case it's not, I'll give my sales app for you [00:22:00] here is that like, I think a little chunk of the concrete of the stadium, a part of the field, a part of the signage, a part of the chairs, the seats, like to the extent that ownership is willing to.
Spencer: Break off a little piece of the stadium and give the opportunity and go to a charity, but any number of different things, I think that would be a really special, especially for people like me that, you know, a meaningful part of my childhood, was here.
Rachel: Make memories here. That's, that's the point of what we do, right?
Rachel: Like whether it's football, a concert, a private event that you're hosting, like. We're in the business of making memories and experiences for people and that's what people resonate with. So, yeah, I, I would venture to say there's some version of that out there that will, that will be in the works and planned and all the things.
Rachel: Does this mean that there's
Carli: going to be red stadium chairs somehow fixed to a wall in our home shortly? Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. Yeah. Where, where are we putting said nostalgic pieces? Yeah,
Spencer: yeah. Okay, I gotta ask you about T Swift. So, you all [00:23:00] landed Taylor Swift. Did you get offered more or less than 20, 000 as a bribe to be able to get people tickets because everyone knows what you do.
Spencer: All of your friends, you had to, was it more or less than 20, 000? Rachel,
Rachel: there are definitely people excited about being friends with me close to that concert, right? You know who your real friends are
Carli: when it's concert season.
Rachel: We had three nights. of Taylor Swift and I've never heard something that loud or it was, it was cool.
Rachel: Yeah. Tell us like
Spencer: what went into all that. Whether you're a
Rachel: Swifty or not. Like it was a, a wildly awesome experience and I've never seen anything quite like that. I mean people were lined up around our building for a week ahead just to get merch. Wow. Didn't even have tickets to the, the concert or, or didn't even, you know, have a thought of coming.
Rachel: Right. But like, they just wanted to be in and around the action. They're just like tents, like around the building. Like lined up around the building. Cause her merch trailers were set up on kind of the South side, outside the building and, and yeah, [00:24:00] people were in line for, I was driving by people in line to get into work through throughout the week.
Rachel: It was crazy. It was, but nothing like. Yeah. You know, crazy, wild, like, you know, running all over and they're all just happy to be together. Very, very nice fans, you know, like, I think that's what made the experience cool is everyone is generally, genuinely just so nice. Happy to be here and wanted to be a part of it.
Rachel: And we were lucky enough to get three nights and it was awesome. Um, we had the epic rain show. That was
Spencer: incredible. And she was just singing in the rain.
Carli: That was awesome.
Spencer: Rachel, one of the cool things that I've seen other stadiums do is like, they'll put a hockey rink in the middle of the field, or they'll put a tennis court down, or they'll put a basketball court down.
Spencer: Um, how should we think what should we look forward to in the new stadium that we might be able to get some stuff that we haven't been able to in the past Super Bowl? I
Rachel: think I think everyone Super Bowl is on everyone's mind, right? I [00:25:00] think, excuse me. I think Those conversations are on the table because of the new stadium.
Rachel: So it is, we're in a place in Nashville where we, we have ample hotel rooms that, that we need to host large things like that. We have awesome, you know, downtown, large event spaces with our music city center and those kinds of things that we can lean in on. And, and the, the biggest part that we hope to be the anchor of is, is the main location for the main event, right?
Rachel: That is, maybe that's a super bowl. Maybe that's a final four. Maybe that is, you're talking about, you know, Tennis, something like that, that is unique in a stadium setting that I would almost lean in on, like, yes, we are a football stadium that is always are going to be our bread and butter. And we are the Titans.
Rachel: Right. But like, it's, it's a, It's a venue for events at the end of the day. and this will, the new stadium will only help us get those, those big ones to Nashville. big ones on the, on the private event side, like corporate conventions as well. So Nashville is a huge, location for meetings, across the country.
Rachel: So a lot of people come host it, you know, [00:26:00] music city center, Opry land or something like that. And we might do I think it's really important that we have an opening reception or a closing reception here. I think we we have even more opportunity in the new building because we have such large space and covered now.
Rachel: I think sky's the limit on that kind of stuff. So large corporate conventions. We are on the map for all of those things. They plan 5 to 7 years out. So we're already in conversations. You're already in negotiations. Yeah. And for years down the road for the new building that's not even built yet. Right?
Rachel: so all of those conversations are on the table.
Spencer: Rachel, one thing we do every podcast is we have three sentences for you where we read. A fill in the blank, where you have to give us the first word or phrase that comes to your mind at the end of this.
Spencer: Okay, so you haven't seen these ahead of time. Alright. Here's the first one. The biggest impact the current stadium has had on Nashville is blank.
Rachel: I think the biggest impact the current stadium has given Nashville is blank.
Rachel: a sense of community.
Spencer: I like that. It was an investment that [00:27:00] really paid off in a big way in so many ways. The biggest change coming to the new stadium will be blank.
Rachel: The biggest change coming to the new stadium will be climate control plus a lot of others.
Spencer: One thing people don't realize about what Nissan Stadium does is.
Rachel: Don't realize that Nissan Stadium does is it's private events. I know that's the lens that I. Operate in. Right. But I do think that's something that, um, they're not necessarily the public ones that people know about. So
Spencer: that's how
Rachel: I'd answer that one.
Spencer: Well, I'm excited because I know that you're not going to tell us today, but there's all sorts of stuff coming behind the scenes, a lot of exciting things
Rachel: coming in the next few years.
Rachel: So,
Spencer: yeah, well, First off, this completes a childhood dream of mine to get to be up in this studio with the stadium in the backdrop, to have walked [00:28:00] underneath the stadium, and to experience that. I was just a young whippersnapper in the seats here behind me.
Spencer: and it's a really cool moment to get to be here and for, all the stuff that people like you do behind the scenes and you're not on the stage. You're not holding the microphone, but it doesn't happen without you. And I think you have done amazing things for the city in giving. Power to a venue that maybe was underutilized before you showed up on the scene.
Spencer: and I think that's a real reason why the city has been able to continue to be the place that it is and not just the city, but the state. And I think you do a great job of articulating that this just isn't about Nashville. It's about Tennessee. And honestly, it's about Alabama and Kentucky and all kinds of people from all over the country that are just looking for a reason to fly into Nashville.
Spencer: So thanks for what you do. And thank you for being a guest with us here today, Rachel.
Rachel: Of course. Thanks for having me. And it is, it is [00:29:00] not just me. There is a lot of people that work in this building and, and on the, on the backside and behind the scenes and make it all happen. So it is a, because of a full team effort that it's successful.
Rachel: Rachel
Spencer: Guymon, the director of special events for the Titans, it was really fun to get a little bit of a lens into what is coming in the form of a 2. 2 billion project. I mean, being born and raised in Tennessee, you kind of become used to some bigger numbers coming around, like. Some of the big buildings that get constructed, not figures with a B, I mean, 2.
Spencer: 2 billion. That's amazing for the entire state. I mean, we're showing that we can handle that investment. We've earned this investment. We've been good stewards of the team. And it's really exciting about what this is going to propel because this [00:30:00] type of investment is one that. They don't make this to be here for 10 years.
Spencer: This has got to pay for itself over decades worth of time. And I think we're legitimately going to get a Superbowl. I mean, Rachel, I kind of saw her wink at us a little bit on the Superbowl. She's a
Carli: professional. There is, you got nothing, you got nothing. You tried though. It was a really valiant effort.
Spencer: She's got Roger Goodell's ear. She's got the commission's ear. Like it's coming here. I'm pretty convinced. It's
Carli: right after like the, uh, their magicians and, you know, Hot air balloons and all of those types of things they can do for events. And then it's like Roger Goodell.
Spencer: That's right. Right
Carli: on speed dial.
Carli: No, I think the things I'm most excited about is one, anything that continues to bring opportunity for people to come into middle Tennessee and become patrons of various businesses, hotels, experience around the state. That's just a win win for everyone here, right? It generates economic growth and development.
Carli: But the other thing I'm really excited about, and I just could barely contain myself, sometimes [00:31:00] you just really should kick me off this podcast because I get so excited when I think about the fun things that families are going to get to do. In this space. And as you and I meet with different nonprofits and everyone's trying to raise money, right?
Carli: Everyone's trying to figure out how to grow and be successful for what they're passionate about. And the opportunity that the Titan stadium, the new Nissan stadium is going to have to create experiential giving, whether it be for nonprofits or experiences for families or for life milestones, et cetera.
Carli: That's where I want to spend our time. That's where I want to spend our money is in these experiences with our kids and our family and our community and the state. And I think that they're really going to be so special at making that happen. So yeah, I get excited. I get tongue tied. It's hard to even articulate sometimes the fun that I think that it's going to bring.
Spencer: Yeah. The logistic side of it too. I think it's fun to get. Just on our walk up here to the studio to get to walk [00:32:00] through the guts of old Nissan stadium and to think about, I mean, we can see it cause it's under construction behind us and the open air to see the underbelly of the new stadium. It's kind of the only time obviously that we'll ever get to see it.
Spencer: And that's impressive. Just from a logistics standpoint is it's a city under a city. It reminds me of like the subways under New York or. Uh, all of the one, two, three stories down worth of stuff. I mean, you can drive an 18 wheeler down underneath this place and there's no telling what it's going to look like.
Spencer: One who
Carli: delivers their packages.
Spencer: Yeah, that's right. But
Carli: you're right. I'm glad I wore walking shoes. Like, I'm glad, I mean, it is enormous in scope and scale. And I think when you come for a game day, you think of all your walking being from wherever you have to park. To how you get in, but today we saw, I mean, you could walk miles around this place and still not visit every nook and cranny.
Spencer: All [00:33:00] right. Go Titans.
Got it. I'll go ahead and add the speakers for you. Can you let me know if you'd prefer any specific names for the hosts and guests? If not, I'll assume a generic format like "Host" and "Rachel" for Rachel Guymon.
