Ladies and gentlemen, it sure sounds like one of Old Nashville’s greatest longest-standing relics is soon to be no more. That’s right – I’m talking about the fabled Stadium Inn, down by Nissan Stadium. I’m pretty sure Nashville was founded with that damn building on that property.
I mean, sure – it felt like getting stabbed or mugged always held a 50/50 shot of happening. But, in a way, it had a weird sort of charm. Maybe that’s all the hindsight talking. Back in the day, when I used to go watch wrestling there, I remember being pretty terrified of my surroundings. Like, I would immediately find my seat, and I wouldn’t leave my seat until I had my posse with me.
But, since I survived all that, I’m looking back at this place through a lens of fondness. So, to see that it has evidently succumbed to gentrification, like many other places in Nashville, fills me with a bit of bittersweet nostalgia.
The times are still changing.
Courtesy of The Nashville Scene:
Now the hotel’s owners have applied for an interior demolition permit from the Metro Codes department. The permit has not been issued yet, but the application says “future tenant to obtain further permits.” Cushman and Wakefield, the commercial real estate firm handling the project, has so far declined to elaborate on the status of or plans for the property.
It’s not clear what will become of the flophouse that once hosted professional wrestling and has stood as an emblem of a grittier Old Nashville, but it does appear that it won’t be the Stadium Inn for much longer. The first word about changes at the hotel came by way of an unsourced tweet from Scoop: Nashville’s Jason Steen.
Well, damn. That’s the book on Nashville in 2019 – less grit, more glitz.
I’ve heard rumors that it’s going to be some trendy little boutique hotel, but of course, can’t confirm it because I have no actual sources. Plus, have you ever read SoBros Network before? Like I give a shit about spreading rumors! It’s not going to surprise anything when this place opens and it costs $500 a night to stay there.
Seeing ‘Stadium Inn’ in the headlines this week brought back a lot of good memories from teenage years.
People often talk about the fabled wrasslin’ down at the Nashville Fairgrounds, but the Stadium Inn wasn’t too far behind in terms of being ripe with Nashville history. I had some friends that wrestled back in high school, and every now and then, they’d end up getting on a “big” card down at the Stadium Inn. I’d go and support them.
I’ve seen people hit their heads on the ceiling there. I saw a chair cave in under the weight of a big ‘en there once. Pretty sure one of my buddies saw Scott Hall wrestle there once. It was crazy – just this tiny little room reserved for shindependent wrestling.
Even though I never went back there since the early 2000s, I still remember it well. Pour one out for the Stadium Inn, y’all.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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