NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: Nashville is a ‘Super-Bowl Ready City’

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited Nashville on Friday to get an up-close look at construction progress on the new Nissan Stadium, the soon-to-be updated home of the Tennessee Titans. During conversations with reporters and local stakeholders, Goodell strongly suggested that Nashville is essentially prepared to serve as a future Super Bowl host city.

With the next three Super Bowls already assigned to San Francisco (Santa Clara), Los Angeles (Inglewood), and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the earliest Nashville could take its turn would be February 2029.

Tennessee Titans fans pose for photos during the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen)

“I think so much of the vision that Amy [Adams Strunk] and the Titans have here,” Goodell said, via Jim Wyatt of the Tennessee Titans’ website. “Listen, it’s an important franchise, a wonderful franchise for the NFL. And I know that the work that they’ve done here from the moment you’ve had the draft [in 2019] and what you did to change the trajectory of the draft — you actually took the draft and made it yours. But you did it in a way that made it incredibly impactful for the future of the NFL — and the Titans.”

When the NFL Draft was held in Nashville in 2019, organizers for the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp reported crowd estimates of 200,000 for both the first and second days of the draft in Lower Broadway. Nashville drew 600,000 fans over the three days of the NFL draft in 2019. That record stood until 275,000 fans packed the area around Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit for night one of the 2024 NFL Draft. Overall, 700,000 fans poured into Detroit for the NFL’s springtime signature event. 

However, the 2019 NFL Draft still is a fond memory for organizers, football fans, and The Shield. It marked a turning point as the NFL Draft proved to become a huge marketing emphasis for the league, a meetup for various fan clubs, and a touchpoint for franchises seeking to provide premium experiences for their respective fans. 

“And I think all of us at that moment had that wake-up moment that this is a Super Bowl-ready city. The one thing that was missing is the stage,” Goodell added, pointing behind him to the new stadium. “And I think now, you’re building a great stage. We have a process, but I have every expectation that we’re going to see that type of thing in the future.” 

Las Vegas is reportedly in the running to host the 2029 game.

600,000 football fans attended the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen)