Press Release: Convention Center Panel Event - May 31

Metro Council At-Large members, Vice Mayor sponsor

convention center panel event

Nashville, TN – All five Metro Council At-Large members and Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors will sponsor a convention center panel discussion on May 31 featuring Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Dr. Heywood Sanders, urban development expert at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The event is free and open to the public.

The purpose of the event is to give the community an opportunity to hear divergent viewpoints on the proposed convention center and to foster a dialogue on the merits of the project.

Sanders has studied the issue of building projects as civic investments in more than 30 cities over the past 15 years. Spyridon has led Nashville’s $4.0 billion hospitality industry since 1991 as well as a branding initiative to broaden the image of Nashville as Music City.

Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors and Metro Council At-Large members Megan Barry, Tim Garrett, Jerry Maynard, Ronnie Steine, and Charlie Tygard are working together to convene this in-depth public discussion about the Music City Center project.

The event will take place from 2-4pm, Sunday, May 31 on Vanderbilt University’s campus at a specific location to be announced.

The panel is also sponsored by several district members of Metro Council, including Michael Craddock, Mike Jameson, Karen Bennett, Sandra Moore, Kristine LaLonde, Erica Gilmore, Emily Evans and Duane Dominy. Some local news organizations, including The Tennessean, the Nashville City Paper and the Nashville Scene, are co-sponsoring the event.