TPAC relocation MOU would move performing-arts center to East Bank; funding deadlines and bridge access included

Metro officials outlined a nonbinding memorandum of understanding that would relocate the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) to a site behind the pedestrian bridge on the East Bank and set milestones to ensure the organization secures financing.

Bob Mendez of the mayor's office summarized the MOU as a short agreement that would move TPAC from its current home to a location "basically behind the bridge" and include diagrams showing placement and infrastructure responsibilities. "We set out deadlines for them to get their funding together, by I think it's September 2025," Mendez said.

The MOU would require TPAC to take responsibility for installing adjacent roads (identified in the presentation as Victory and Waterside) that would provide access to the site. Mendez said the agreement also obligates TPAC to ensure that construction does not create a period when pedestrian and bicycle access across the river is shut down.

Jennifer Turner, TPAC's president and CEO, described programming and venue plans for the new site and said the organization expects to increase capacity in its larger halls (raising a 2,400-seat house toward 2,600 and a 1,000-seat house to roughly 1,200) while creating flexible rehearsal and black-box spaces. "We are looking at increasing the capacity of the 2,400 to 2,600 and the thousand seat to 1,200," Turner said, adding the black-box would be a flexible space used for performances, dinners or lectures.

Turner also noted the grant and fundraising context: a state grant discussed in the presentation requires a 20% fundraising match and was referenced at $200 million; TPAC is planning private fundraising (the presentation estimated roughly $100 million) and naming-rights will be part of that campaign. "The grant from the state requires us to do a 20% fundraising match," Turner said.

Council members pressed for details about temporary pedestrian access and grades during construction. Mendez said designers are considering options with either a consistent grade or a series of slopes with level recovery areas, and he emphasized the temporary solution "would not have a grade that's worse than the current condition."

The committee heard that TPAC and Metro expect to coordinate on patron access, shuttles and event timing, and that short-term and long-term parking solutions will be needed. Turner said TPAC anticipates short-term and long-term parking plans and partnerships will be part of its move to the East Bank.

The MOU was presented as an early step intended to allow TPAC and Metro to agree on basic placement, responsibilities and financing timetables while definitive, binding agreements would be negotiated later.