Russell Ries 0:36

Alright,

Intro

Russell Ries 0:37

well, jumping right in this tweet after Predators announced the top trade trading loop events for the New Jersey Devils on September 1st. Predators now owned seven draft picks in the first two rounds of the next two NHL drafts. At his press conference following the trade, Predators General Manager Chris McFarland said that this trade was not something they were shopping for, but they got a deal they couldn't give up, and it did help that the Predators had become very forward-heavy, so this helps open up the roster a little bit there. That is something previously that we've touched on, and this appears to be the resolution. Moving on now to Nashville SC, who drew on Friday night at New York City FC 0-0, playing at Yankee Stadium. That moves them to 16-2-5 on the year with 53 points. Next, they head to Toronto on Wednesday for a match, before then heading down to the dreaded Miami on Saturday to face their closest competitors in the Eastern Conference, Inter-Miami FC, who are still 10 points behind them. Nashville also loaned defender Chris Applewhite to Austin FC through June 30th, 2027, and loaned midfielder Charles Emil Burnett to St. Louis through the end of the 2026 MLS season. In both instances, Nashville received $50,000 in game, and the other team has the option to buy the player at the end of the loan. Moving right on to the Tennessee Titans, who kick off their season a week from today against the New Jersey Jets at home. Titans set their 53-man roster last Sunday. Xavier Restrepo made the initial 53, but then ended up getting waived and eventually on to the Titans practice squad. Will Levis, the other uh person we said we wanted to follow, was cut entirely, went unclaimed on waivers, then did just work out for the Jets earlier this week, but has yet to sign another team. In other news with the Titans, Robert Sala officially announced on Tuesday that Fernando Carmona, the fifth-round pick of this year's draft, will be starting at right guard for the Titans in week one. That's a huge surprise for the Titans, a great boon for them, and an exciting endeavor, and uh something that, you know, should hopefully shore up what's been a real problem for the Titans, their offensive line. Death still doesn't look very good there, but at least they found a quality starter in the fifth round. On to college football, Vanderbilt kicked off their season yesterday, defeating Austin P 28-9 and moving to 1-0 on the season. Tennessee State traveled down to Georgia, lost 63-3, falling to 0-2 on the season. And Middle Tennessee State defeated Murray State 38-14, moving to 1-0. Vanderbilt Women's Soccer is currently number three in the nation, and they beat Houston 2-1 on the road to improve to 5-0. Sidney Watts scored both Vanderbilt goals.

Jar Grider Intro

Russell Ries 3:59

My guest this week is Jay Grider. Jay is the COO and special advisor at the Nashville Sports Council, where he spent much of his career helping grow Nashville into the major sports destination that it is today. His career also includes work in minor league baseball and with events including things like the Music City Bowl. He's recently released a book called Last Call from the Minor Leagues to Nashville's Rise as a major sports destination. I really enjoyed speaking to Jay and hearing all about his career in helping grow Nashville and the Nashville sports team. I hope you'll enjoy my conversation with Jay Grider.

Jay Grider Interview

Russell Ries 4:39

All right. Well, Jay, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it. When I reached out to you, I I didn't realize you had this book out, but this is right in my wheelhouse. Last call from the minor leagues to Nashville's Rise is a major sports destination. Being a fan of both Nashville sports and Nashville history, I devoured this book, and I really appreciate you taking the time to come on and speak with me.

Jay Grider 5:04

Well, thank you. I I hope you enjoyed it.

Russell Ries 5:06

Oh, I did, absolutely. And uh it was a bit of uh remembering where I was at the same times and a lot of the things that you mentioned, and then also reflecting on a bunch of the places that you mentioned that were sort of old Nashville that I was like, oh man, I gotta ask them about that. So yeah, it w it was a bit of memory lane in a bunch of different ways, and I'd like to go deeper into it, but first I do want to start you off. I ask everyone the same three questions just to kind of level set, starting with what is your earliest sports memory?

Jay Grider 5:37

When you say sports memory, is that one that I'm participating in?

Russell Ries 5:41

It's whatever you want it to be.

Jay Grider 5:43

Boy. Um I was thinking about that whenever I was reading what you were talking about. I would say minor league baseball, and not the minor league baseball that I worked in after college, but that was prior to Little League. When I was growing up, it was called minor league baseball. Um, and it was when I was living in Mountain Home, Arkansas, it was a team called the Detroit Tigers. And I can remember my shirt had the the Tigers logo on it, and it was the old Tigers logo that had the face of the tiger on it. And that I think that's my very first that I can recall real sports memory that I was a part of.

Russell Ries 6:22

Have you felt an affinity for the Tigers ever since? Just kind of kept around now?

Jay Grider 6:28

Not really.

Russell Ries 6:29

Okay, and you covered this in the book, but for those who have yet to read it, which I do recommend everyone go out and get it, how did you end up in Nashville?

Jay Grider 6:37

You want the long version or the short?

Russell Ries 6:39

Whatever you got to give.

Jay Grider 6:41

Okay, so I grew up in Shelbyville, which is about an hour south of Nashville, and uh went to school at Middle Tennessee State. At that time, as I was graduating high school and was in college, I knew I wanted to work in sports. And obviously the first third of the book talks about my journey in getting into sports. But once I was lucky enough to get into sports, my first job was in Huntsville, Alabama with the Huntsville Stars. Um, and I was there for about three years, um, worked my way through Texas and Florida, and then had the opportunity to come back to Nashville. Uh my father had passed away back in 1996, and I had had some some guilt not being able to be here when it happened. My my mom and my brother and my sister were all here at the time, and unfortunately, I was living in Florida, was not able to get back in time. So I had some guilt there. So I always thought if I had the opportunity to come back to Nashville and work in sports, I would. So I was just lucky enough to get back to Tennessee and have an opportunity to work up at Clarksville for an independent minor league baseball team there. Unfortunately, that didn't work out, but in the back of my head, I thought probably it wasn't going to work out. But plan B was to be able to come to Nashville because at that time the Titans had already said they were coming to town. There was an arena being built, so there were some definite leads that I could follow up on should that not happen. And lo and behold, December of 97 is is when my journey here started.

Russell Ries 8:16

Cool. And I want to ask you about Nashville as it was when you first got here, but before I do that, the last of the three questions I ask everyone, which is what is your favorite Nashville sports memory or moment?

Jay Grider 8:29

Well, I I don't think I've had it yet. Okay. I'm I'm hoping that sometime in the next few years that will happen. Now, granted, I've had a lot of really great ones, but I'm hoping that it hadn't come yet.

Russell Ries 8:43

Okay. Great. I love that. All right, so let's move into Nashville a little bit. You know, you covered a lot in this book about the transformation from what Nashville was and to what it's become, and I firmly believe, and I've said this on the show before, that it was sort of that 96, 97, 98 Titans, Predators, those arrivals that was really the fulcrum for change to lead to where we are now. But I do wonder when you think about what the city was back then, what ingredients were kind of already in place here? And what were the pieces that still needed to be added to eventually become the sports destination that we are now?

Jay Grider 9:22

Yeah. Well, to your point, you know, during that time is when obviously we knew that the NFL was coming to town and we knew we were getting an arena, did not have at that point a tenant for it. You know, we had read in in the paper about you know maybe an NBA team coming here, and then obviously the predators wound up being the main tenant. But I think having those venues in place are very important. If you don't have those venues or the agreement to build those venues, you're not going to have the opportunity to get those large-scale professional sports teams, which helps growing the city by leaps and bounds in many different ways. And then also I think the infrastructure as well. And by that I mean the Chamber of Commerce and the Sports Council and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is now the Convention and Visitors Corporation, the Mayor's Office, all of these different entities that are willing to work together to put on a quality event. That's one of the things that sets Nashville apart. Um, and I try to talk about that a lot in the book. And I joke, you know, Nashville is a star of this book. I'm just the tour guide, and I'm serious when I say that, but it's the truth. But part of all that is all these different entities that work together collectively that makes Nashville the success story that it has been and will be, you know, moving forward.

Russell Ries 10:44

Yeah, that makes total sense to me. And something that struck me in the book is how much relationship drove so many things that happened. What is the secret to establishing a good relationship that then becomes something like a 20-year commitment from the SEC to have a tournament?

Jay Grider 11:01

It's you know, treating people with respect. It's doing what you say you're going to do, even if it's not the outcome that you wanted, but you keep your word. Um, it's about, you know, having respect for the people that you work with. And I think Nashville is good in that they all, all these entities, I'm sure we all have egos to some degree, and we all want to do a really good job for the organization that we work for. But whenever you're looking at a large-scale event that we do or have done or will do in the in the future, you're looking at multiple entities that have to be involved. And we all work on our own silos, but there are some instances when we when we're all working together that we check those egos at the door. And I think it's it's the ability to check egos, uh knowing that you're working for the good of the city, for the betterment of the city, not only from an economic impact perspective, but also from a quality of life perspective. Now that's part of the sports council's mission statement is we're here to create a positive economic impact and improve quality of life by producing sporting events for the city.

Russell Ries 12:11

Well, as a Nashville native, let me just thank you for improving my quality of life. It was night and day. Another thing that you mentioned, a line that really stuck with me in the book, speaking of the city, was we weren't just building a schedule, we were building a brand for the city. What was it that you had in mind for that brand? And did it ultimately get to where you thought it would go, or were there surprises along the way?

Jay Grider 12:39

I I think in a perfect world, if if we were dreaming, we would want to kind of be where we are right now. Now, me being a selfish person, I would wish we've already had a Super Bowl and a CFP and a final Ford or WrestleMania, but at the same time, too, we have to be realistic and understand there are some maybe some things that would have to occur, like a brand new stadium with a roof on it in order to be able to have those. But to say, you know, if you would have told me in 1997 when I started here that I'm talking to you in 2026, having this conversation about all the different things that have happened over those 28 years, I would have taken that and been and ran and been happy to say, oh boy, yes, this is great. And look what's on the horizon. Obviously, in March of next year is is when the stadium is going to open. And you know, we've got obviously the Super Bowl in 2030 already on the books, talking to the folks at CFP, talking to the folks at WWE, talking to the NCAA about the men's Final Four. Um, can can you imagine? I mean, it sounds like you obviously grew up here too, or at least you were here when it wasn't what it is now. If if someone were to tell you, you would be having this conversation about these all the events that we've had and what's on the horizon, would you have believed it?

Russell Ries 14:04

Oh, I would have been elated. Yeah, I mean unbelievable for sure.

Jay Grider 14:08

Yeah, 100%.

Russell Ries 14:10

You know, I mentioned the the SEC tournament, and that's been a mainstay now, and it does seem very unusual that you would lock down or be able to lock down that tournament for 20 years. What was it that Nashville was offering that made them want to make that commitment to the city?

Jay Grider 14:29

Yeah, I think it's it's a combination of things, to be honest with you. Obviously, our relationship with the conference, um, it kind of really started with the Music City Bowl back in '98, it was our first game with them. And then after about three years uh of that relationship being cultivated, 2001 was the first year that we actually had our first tournament at Bridgestone Arena. It had been at Vanderbilt, I think, in 1984, I believe, um, and maybe another time between now and or then in 2001. Um, but I think our relationship with the conference from a bowl perspective definitely was one of the main things. Secondly, their philosophy, I think, on getting out of those the the football stadium uh type atmospheres, they wanted something more intimate. So obviously, uh you know, a 17 to 18,000 seat facility is a lot more intimate than the Georgia Dome or Sugar Dome or wherever it is. Um, and then third, and I think one of the most important things is the ability to walk outside of that arena and be right in the heart of the entertainment district of the city. Um, I can't think of really too many other places that offer that particular opportunity for folks. Um, and then again, fourth, I think, which is obviously extremely important too, again, is the city's collaboration with all the the entities and the stakeholders involved. I think if you if you put all those things together, I think that's the perfect formula.

Russell Ries 16:07

Nice. I want to ask a little bit more. You're talking about sort of the city and how people collaborate. And you mentioned in the book about the sports council bringing in events that are sort of three categories events you own, events you bid on, and events where you serve as sort of the operational partner. Can you tell me how the sports council, like when a new opportunity comes across your desk, what do you what makes something worth pursuing or makes something interesting to you as a member of the sports council versus uh perhaps something you would pass on?

Jay Grider 16:41

Right. I think the first thing that we have to do is what type of event is it in it, and do we have an actual venue that can host that? That's really the very first thing because if if they come in and they're looking for uh and I'm I'm using this, I'm making this up, but let's say it was some sort of giant tennis event, and they're looking for indoor tennis facilities, you know, multiple of uh uh uh courts, that may not be something that we can offer. So venue is is number one. Once you get checked that off, then I think it's the time of year. What else do we have going on, or what else is going on in the city? Um if it's between Christmas and New Year's, chances are we're probably not gonna do it because we've got a bowl game. If it's the second week of March, chances are we're probably not gonna do it because it's an SEC basketball tournament. If it's the last Saturday in April, that's a rock and roll marathon. Um so we kind of have to look at the schedule. And it's not only sports that could potentially be a competition for that event, but obviously Nashville being as popular as it is from a convention perspective. If they are looking for venues like something in the Music City Center to have something going on that would need space, we've obviously got to check that off to find out if that venue is available. So it's all about venues and it's all about timing. Um, a lot of it has to do too with hotel availability and rates. Um, if there's a huge convention in town that's taking up all the hotel rooms, there's only so much that we can offer. Um, and then also, to be honest with you, you know, we we do get reached out from time to time with with places or excuse me, uh events that are looking for $150 hotel room nights. And if they're looking for something like that in the downtown area, unfortunately that's not something that's that's offered anymore. So um that there that those are are kind of the the checklist, if you will, uh, on how you kind of determine um if it's something that we can do. Obviously, we're a nonprofit organization, so we are not someone that's looking to make a whole lot of money, but we at least need to break even. So, are there revenue streams available to us? Um, are we required to pay a bid fee? Because a lot of different places or events will come to us and they'll say, Okay, we would love to come there, but you have to underwrite X amount of money and expenses or underwrite the venue for us. And a lot of sports commissions throughout the United States are a division of a Chamber of Commerce or a division of a Convention and Visitors Bureau. We are not, we're a standalone company. For several years, from the beginning from 92 through 2007, we were a division of a chamber. And even then, though, we'd we weren't like a lot of sports commissions where there is a heads and beds tax, and and by that I mean um there are a lot of sports commissions that receive tax revenue from hotel rooms or rental cars or whatever those taxes might be, where you know they're they're the beneficiary of people that are staying in hotels and spending money. Um, we as a sports council being a standalone company here in Nashville, we are we we do not receive any of that. So if if a soccer tournament's come into town and it's 200 youth soccer teams, for instance, they would they'll reach out to us and say, Hey, can you write us a check for $25,000 to be a sponsor? You're gonna get your money back because you're getting heads and beds tax, you know. That's not the case for for the Nashville Sports Council. Now, if it's the Atlanta Sports Commission or any N plus Sports Corp. They may, but for us we're not beneficiaries of that type of thing.

Russell Ries 20:45

So I'm curious where do the primary revenue streams for the Sports Council come from then?

Jay Grider 20:51

Good question. Um We're not only an event company, but we're also a membership-based organization. So we'll start with membership first. Um, you as an individual or a company that you may be affiliated with could become a member. Um and with that, it's a there's different levels of giving uh depending upon the the individual or the corporate member. Um with that, there are some assets that you do receive, but I would call it more a community give to really essentially keep the Sports Council engine rolling. It's the ability to bring in these events to town to again create that economic impact and quality of life. Uh so in addition to our membership revenues that we have, we've got some sponsorships that come along with that. We have a speaker series, probably four or five different speaker series throughout the year. It might be a Titans event, it could be a Predator event, it might be a Commissioner Sankey from the SEC coming in, giving a State of the Union on Collegiate Sports. It could be a Nashville Sounds event, it could be a Nashville at C event. Whatever that could be, where you as an a member could either get a free uh admission to that particular speaker series or a discounted rate for that speaker series, depending upon your level of giving. So that again, the membership is one way. And then, secondly, um if if we do bring an event to town, let's say a Southeastern Conference basketball tournament or an FCS championship like we had in January, then we would get a either a management fee or a stipend from those organizations. We as an organization will be responsible for certain operational aspects. Some of that could be expense oriented, but some of it could be volunteers or helping out operationally or securing police escorts or whatever that operational duty might be. So it's it's membership revenue and it's also uh I would say management uh fee revenues as well. Now with the bowl, because the bowl and sports council are two separate organizations, so I wear two hats, depending on what kind of conversation I'm having with you. Uh, from a bowl perspective, we own all those assets. So all the sponsorship money, all the ticket money, all the television money, all the merchandise money. That's that's all bowl. And we have uh our separate board, our separate budget from the bowl perspective. And then from a sports council perspective, um, we have our own boat or our own board of directors and our own budget there too. The sports council is a 501c6 nonprofit, and the bowl is a 501c3 nonprofit. So, and collectively have one staff of about nine people now that that operate both. We have again, we wear two hats.

Russell Ries 23:52

And you mentioned uh volunteers. I'm just curious if people were interested in volunteering with the sports council or for the bowl game, how would they reach out to you?

Jay Grider 24:01

Is there they could reach out through our uh website um and and sign up to be a volunteer. Uh, if you follow us on social media, you'll find that there are times and there are events where we are looking for volunteers. You know, in particular, the the rock and roll running series is one that that we're always looking. Um you know, we we generally try and bring in about 900 to a thousand volunteers for that. You know, over the years with the bowl and the SEC basketball tournament, um the number of volunteers needed for those are a lot less. Um, and then we have had all of our members over the years. That's another thing that you can as a benefit, you can become a member of the sports council and be a volunteer. But obviously anybody can volunteer to be the sports of the sports council. Um but because their members, I must say they have more access, but they have more access and and and kind of a first right of of wanting to volunteer should they want to, to get the good spots, if you will. Um so um over the years we've had a lot of sports council members continue to to volunteer for us year after year, that you know, depending upon what that event is, whether it's the bowl or SEC basketball or the marathon or NFL draft, whatever it might happen to be at that time.

Russell Ries 25:33

Yeah, then onwards with the sports council and sort of the life cycle of kind of events. You mentioned in the book about Music City hits, and you said you can't afford to fall in love with a property that is eating your lunch. And I was reminded of uh a songwriter friend of mine who once talked about killing off your darlings, which is lines he really wanted to use, but he couldn't find a way to fit them in, and so eventually he had to just sort of let them go. How do you know when to walk away from something that has that kind of history and the relationships and the investment behind it? What what tells you it's time?

Jay Grider 26:14

Yeah, in that particular instance, and I and I touch on it in the book, um that particular instance, the Music City Hits is a is a women's or a girls' softball showcase event that we had from approximately 2005 through around 2012, I believe. Um when we first started the amount of showcase tournaments in the Southeast, they were they were out there, but there weren't a whole lot of them. Um and with that, whenever you have the showcase tournaments, obviously the goal is to bring in teams and also coaches, because the more coaches you bring in, the more teams want to come, and the more teams that want to come, the more coaches want to come. So it's kind of a chicken and the egg thing. Um, but after about four or five years, the number of tournaments in the southeast area were growing tremendously, and the amount of man and woman hours, we'll call it, or people or working hours that we had to put on that particular event, not just the week of or the 10 days total, whether it's load in, tournament, and load out, but the solicitation and all of that prior to for let's say two or three months prior in order to prep to get the event. And then when it comes down to it, the bottom line is you're making five thousand dollars. It just wasn't worth the time that that the company itself was devoting for that particular investment.

Russell Ries 27:52

That makes sense. I was interested reading about the AAU tournaments and particularly the one at Libscombe described, and I don't want to give away the whole book. I really do think people should go out and read the book. Um I I'm a big fan already. But were there any sort of you you talked about the organized chaos behind the scenes. Were there any stories that didn't make the cut that sort of speak to that organized chaos?

Jay Grider 28:20

Um, I mean, there are a lot of uh of organized chaos. They happen pretty much every event, it's just a matter of the level of chaos that he I'm gonna make up a word chaosity. Um but you know, I uh a a good example is like at Vanderbilt, um, when we had our first bowl game. Most people would not know that there was no field covering. Um if you go to a Titans game, they have a giant tarp that they cover the field with. Well, Vanderbilt did not have that, so unfortunately for us, it snowed and had ice storms, you know, a few days prior to our first bowl game. So yours truly was out there literally scraping ice and snow off the field on Christmas Day because we had to have the field cleared in order for the field to dry enough to where when we painted it, though the paint would not run. Um, so that's that's one example of stuff that people have no idea that that had to be done. Um I can remember one particular bowl game and I can't remember the year, but I remember coming into the West Club area and there was a waterfall of water coming down the steps um in the club area, and a pipe had broken. Um things like that that that people don't know that happened. You know, uh when we hosted the uh NHL All-Star game in 2016, the the weekend actually of the actual event, we had a a concert series in a VIP area outside. Well, it it wound up snowing then too. And um luckily, going back to the relationships that we have with the city and Metro Parks in this particular case, you know, we had to call them up and they had their whole crew come in and get all the snow off of all the areas that we needed to because it was going to become a lot warmer that day, and the snow would have melted and kind of the runoff would have ruined everything that we had. We had to call in the city to get them to uh you know clear off Demumbrian because we still had load-in for the concert stage equipment. Um, it's just it's never ending. Um, you know, it's it's kind of relative in what level of chaos, but um, you know, it it it it it's always happening. It's just a matter of trying to be as prepared as one can be in order to pivot. Uh, or if we need to pick up the phone to make something happen, you can.

Russell Ries 31:10

I'm reminded of the saying, be like a duck, you know, really calm above the surface and furiously paddling below.

Jay Grider 31:18

That's a good analogy. 100%.

Russell Ries 31:21

It seems like when you and your team do your job well, no one will even notice.

Jay Grider 31:28

That's the hope.

Russell Ries 31:29

I I remember getting my roof replaced after you know the storms that came through a few years ago, and you have a brand new roof and nothing changes. And and and thankfully that's that's the way it should be. So it seems very similar.

Jay Grider 31:45

Exactly right.

Russell Ries 31:47

Well, while we're speaking about some uh Nashville history and some of the things you've experienced, something that spoke to me a lot as a lover of food and a former restaurant worker was that you mentioned a lot of old Nashville bars and restaurants, and it sounds like you and your team have wined and dined a lot of people in a lot of places all over this city. And just for the foodie in me, what are some places or even some dishes from restaurants gone by that that uh you still think about or or that you recall fondly?

Jay Grider 32:22

Always a fan of Rotiers. Uh the ham the cheeseburger on the French bread and the chocolate shakes, those are always really good. Um our offices are we're currently in Metro Center, but for many years we were in downtown. And uh the the arcade had several places over the years that we would always love to go to. Um and obviously we've moved since then and the arcade has kind of changed, I guess for the better now, uh, in some aspects. Um, but you know, Manny's House of Pizza and several other uh there's one Chinese restaurant there. I can't the name escapes me. Um uh but uh Grind when I first moved to town, Grinders was a place right there at the RK. But there were several restaurants in the RK that I always was uh that were fond memories from a lunch perspective. Um remember there was a uh sports bar. Remember where Graham Central Station was? Which is now where um oh gosh, it's DraftKings, I guess. Is that what it is?

Russell Ries 33:37

Yeah, I think it is.

Jay Grider 33:38

Um was it second and goal, I believe was the sports bar back in the 90s, late 90s, early 2000s? They had great wings. I can remember that place. Um but yeah, they're Demos. That was one of my favorite places too. Right there on Second Uh Third and Commerce for sure.

Russell Ries 34:00

Yeah, those are some great ones to remember. Did you ever go down to Sam Sushi over in uh Printer's Alley?

Jay Grider 34:07

Yes, and and we got abused? Yes, uh, yes. Right there at at uh uh Printer's Alley.

Russell Ries 34:13

Yeah, right on the corner there.

Jay Grider 34:16

Yeah, and it was about as big as a closet.

Russell Ries 34:18

Mm-hmm. Yeah, oh man. I that's that's one when I try and tell people who have moved here since they don't really believe that it was an actual place. But yeah.

Jay Grider 34:27

Yes. But now didn't he is he at Acme? Or he was at one point.

Russell Ries 34:32

I think that's right. He he moved to Acme. I don't know if he's still there or not.

Jay Grider 34:36

But I know they still have the sushi up there. I don't know if Sam's still doing it, but yeah, for sure that they and they've got really good sushi there at Acme.

Russell Ries 34:45

Uh something I I mentioned earlier that, you know, I really enjoyed vicariously sort of reliving some of these events that you and I both experienced from very, very different perspectives. Uh but one of the things that you talked about was sort of the strange guilt of working in sports after 9-11. And I was instantly transported back to, I have such a strong and powerful memory of the first Predators game I went to. I was a senior in high school. I just turned 18. I was, you know, I thought, am I gonna get drafted? What is this? What's happening? Um but just the power of being at the Predators game, I think about a month later, and standing with everyone in community and singing in the national anthem is something that I will always hold with me, and and I think it was an important moment in my life. But I wonder what that period taught to you about what sports can be to a community just beyond the game itself.

Jay Grider 35:54

Yeah, I think it's a great way of a I won't call it a distraction, but it is it, you know, it was a way for people to not focus on that and to focus on something else to where we all could kind of get together as a group. And you know, me being a diehard Red Sox fan, I'm not sure who you follow, but if you were a Yankee fan, we could still give each other crap. Um but but at the same time, too, uh it it was a really good distraction. And I mentioned in the book about Saturday Night Live, whenever you know they got they had their that that premiere, and I think that was kind of the catalyst for everybody to say, okay, we need laugh, you know, yeah and um try and and get back on track.

Russell Ries 36:38

Absolutely. I I personally grew up a Braves fan because of my grandfather and a Cubs fan because I was born up in Evanston. But uh another one that I experienced completely differently than you, I had gone to college and befriended a bunch of guys from Boston, and I got to watch that whole run from down three-nothing all the way through the World Series. Uh, and I think that was the first time I truly understood the power of postseason baseball and how how incredibly intense and engaging every single pitch matters. You know, it's such a kind of the polar opposite of the regular season with 182 games and you know on and on and on, and all of a sudden it's just pressure cooker. But that was another thing where I could sort of compare my memory to yours because that is another yeah, that was an amazing run, and to be able to experience it as a Red Sox fan, a long-suffering Red Sox fan, I can't even imagine.

Jay Grider 37:39

Yeah. Actually, last week I just watched the comeback again on Netflix. It never gets old.

Russell Ries 37:46

I mean, truly an amazing, uh, one of the best sports stories of of a long time. I would agree. I do want to ask too, kind of speaking of baseball, you know, we have the team here, Music City Baseball, who's leading the effort to bring the Nashville Stars to town. And I wonder you've been around sort of the previous efforts. You mentioned the Titans were already ready to come, but then the Predators and Nashville SC. When you look at this current push to bring MLB to town, what feels familiar to you from those previous campaigns and what what kind of feels different or do you see differences?

Jay Grider 38:29

I'm gonna go different first. Um there they have an organization. I get a newsletter from them every week. Um, you would think it's a real team. I mean, they're selling merchandise, uh, they're marketing themselves, you know, really well. But but the first question that I really have, and they've never really addressed it, is the ownership group. Um, there are a lot of individuals, I think, who have invested a dedicated amount of money to kind of serve on a committee, but you know, you're you're talking in order to get a franchise, two billion dollars with a B. In order to build a facility, that's another two billion dollars with a B. So my question is, and there very well could be someone or some group out there, but no one has come to the forefront yet as the representation of the ownership group that's got that kind of money. Um, so uh I wish nothing but the best, and I hope it happens. Having grown up an hour from here, and with the Sounds being the very first professional team that Nashville ever had, I would have bet my life as an 18-year-old that Major League Baseball would have been the first major professional sports franchise that would have come to town. I wouldn't have thought the Titans. Um that said, I I would be so fired up to have that. But at the same time, too, where's the money coming from? I I don't know the answer to that question. And, you know, also the city is continuing to grow on a daily basis. But if you start doing the math, let's say you've got a team that comes to town and you've got 81 home games, and let's say you build a stadium or a ballpark that's 35,000 seats, let's put it on the small side. Okay, so you're essentially doubling the number of predator games, and you're doubling the size of the arena. So, and again, don't get me wrong, I'm I'm a proponent, I would love for it to happen, but I'm trying to do the economic side of it too. Sure. You're trying to fill up 35,000 seats 81 times. I can see it happening on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. That Monday through Thursday schedule, you know, now I don't know the ins and outs of television agreements and how much money they're getting from TV and how much money or how many tickets they need to sell in order to make a pro. I don't know all that. But, you know, just looking at at the the economic piece of it, it would be a little bit of a struggle, I would think, because you've already got Titans, you've already got the breads, you've already got NSC, you've got, you know, you've got the sounds, but obviously the sounds would have to go away. Um so it's it's there are a lot of unanswered questions, and I hope I'm answering your question. Um, but that to me that's money is is makes whatever everything happen, and I just don't see where that is. Again, there could be somebody out there, but um when you're talking billions of dollars, there ain't a whole lot of those around.

Russell Ries 42:00

Well, that that makes sense to me. And speaking of fledgling potential sporting organizations, I do want to talk about the POGA.

Jay Grider 42:11

Olga.

Russell Ries 42:13

So again, for people read the book, but the players of Office Golf Association to me yes sounds like the kind of thing that should be featured on ESPN's The Ocho.

Jay Grider 42:28

100%. And if I would to your point, if the Ocho called, we would bring that stuff back quick now with a caveat. I've gotta I'm gonna have to secure a different uh set of offices. Our offices now are smaller, and uh but that would not be an issue if I've got the ocho back in me. Oh, we'll find a place, one hundred percent.

Russell Ries 42:50

I uh I think given the current trends in remote work, there might be a number of buildings who would gladly gladly jump out for that. And if there's anything we can do to uh to help help get the ocho's attention, please let me know because I would watch that. I would watch that so much.

Jay Grider 43:10

It was so fun, and we had a great three-year run. And again, for those people that uh aren't familiar with it, if you go to Amazon and look under Jay Ryder last call, you can read all about it. Um but it was uh it was a a heck of a I mean we had you would have thought it was an actual a real tournament. I mean, you got a gift bag that had a sleeve of balls in it, you got a pullover. Um I mean, we had scorecards. I mean, it would it was the real deal. Uh sponsors and everything. It was really cool.

Russell Ries 43:44

I could see a bunch of hyper competitive corporate guys really going in for that. And you know, you could have regionals, you could have you could have the whole thing. I know you've probably thought this through more than I, but yeah, I I I was reading that and I was thinking if the universe. University of Tennessee can win a national championship in Excel spreadsheets, and surely we can convince, you know, the disparate corporate companies around the world and around the States to put up their best office butters and uh bring a little notoriety. But yes, everyone should read the book, if nothing else, for POGA. I will put a link to the the book on Amazon in the description of the title too.

Jay Grider 44:29

I appreciate that. I was actually watching the Ocho the other day and they had this wrestling basketball on. Did you see that?

Russell Ries 44:36

I've seen clips of it, but I yeah, I'm I'm not sure I can watch a whole game. Yeah. Well, I think POGA ne needs to be in there. If I ever get to talk to anyone from ESPN, the first thing I will ask them is why why haven't you gotten them on there yet?

Jay Grider 44:53

Exactly.

Russell Ries 44:55

Looking ahead, you've mentioned the Super Bowl. You've mentioned potentially WrestleMania, which I think would be a big ticket item around here. I know you've been a proponent of it for a while. As you look into the future, what most excites you about where Nashville is, where Nashville's headed? What are some things that maybe people aren't taking into consideration as we move forward? Because it doesn't feel like uh it doesn't feel like the momentum is stopping.

Jay Grider 45:29

Oh yeah, it's only just getting started, um, to be honest with you. Um obviously I think everybody's thinking about all the different large scale events. And quite frankly, to be selfish, so are we. So am I. You know, it it is, you know, once the Super Bowl got announced, you know, the sky's the limit now. But it you know, it is the CFP, it's the you know, it it's it's it's the WrestleMania, it's the men's final four, it's the World Cup. The thing that people really need to think about and it's it it's it's it's gonna be a challenge for us as an organization and the city as an organization as to how you're gonna put that puzzle together. Because the amount of money that will need to be raised to pr bring these events to town is astronomical. You're probably talking anywhere from fifteen to fifty million dollars you know, to put on something like these like these things. So, you know, we've already got twenty thirty in the books. Obviously, you're not going to be able to have these things all within the same year. You're gonna have to kind of spread it out. At the same time, too, not all of these events are going to be available every year. We'll use the CFP as an example and we'll use uh the men's final four as an example. Obviously, there are bid processes that take place, and they're gonna be strategic in where they bring these events from a geographical perspective. You know, if you're if you're if you're the CFP, you may want to, if you're looking at the United States map, you may want to go west coast, midwest, you know, southeast, east, you know, and maybe rotate that in certain ways. So that in theory might limit us to a certain year or so as to when we can actually go after it. And would that conflict with the Super Bowl year? Or would that conflict with a WrestleMania potential year? So it it's an interesting puzzle, if you will, of having to put everything together and to answer your question. I think people obviously will want to see all these things come here, but they don't realize how intricate it's going to be to try and fit this these pieces of this puzzle in order for us to be able to get everything that we want. And I I'm I'm confident that we will, but it's it's going to take some time. You know, I it I would think, I would hope, maybe by 28 or 9 would be maybe the first set of whatever those are, with obviously 30 being the Super Bowl. Um, but I think you're going to run into the 2030s and maybe even the latter half of the 2030s to get some of those just because of the way the calendar falls, geographically where those events fall. Um, so it's it's not something that's going to happen immediately. But um it I think over time it will. I would think, you know, sometimes don't hold me to this. I I I by no means have a crystal ball. But if you were to have a conversation ten years from now, I would think a lot of those have taken place or were going to be on the books.

Russell Ries 48:52

I'm interested too, when thinking about 2030 in the Super Bowl, that's something you talk about in the book a lot is you know, like with with the Music City Bowl, for example, it's not just the game. There's a whole sort of ecosystem of celebrations and events and things that go on around it, the battle of the bands, the engagements for the coaches, and all sorts of things. How will the National Sports Council be involved in some of that around the Super Bowl? And I assume it'll be kind of on steroids compared to the Music City Bowl. What what is what what what might that look like? Obviously, there's a lot to be done on the East Bank still and whatnot, but that's that's a really that's a really good question.

Jay Grider 49:34

Um that's to be determined. Obviously, as it relates to all these different types of events that would come to town, some have more needs than others. Some are really all turnkey, and maybe the only thing that they would need would be volunteers. Let's say the Super Bowl, for example. You know, that there may be a situation there where they're gonna bring in all of their staff and all of their subcontracted companies that they work with, and they'll come to Nashville and they'll say, Okay, we need an organization that will help us recruit 1200 volunteers to help put on this thing. From I I'm making this up, parking attendance to uh uh selling merchant, whatever that is. Um, so you know until you actually have those those those events secured, you really don't know to what degree. Um but I would like to think that the Sports Council would be involved operationally, not only with volunteers, but other things as well. You know, having put on going on 30 bowl games and multiple fall football games, I would say that's probably part of our skill set when it comes to the CFP wanting to come to town. Um, you know, when it comes to the men's final four, having done twenty a combination of twenty men's and women's SEC basketball championships, probably a half a dozen first and second rounds and a women's final four over the years, probably our skill set. Um, so I think it would just depend upon what actual event it is. Um, and hopefully the entity that comes to town recognized what our skill set would be. Um, but I think it could vary, you know, from from a minute, small type thing to, you know, maybe a larger scale kind of uh involvement.

Russell Ries 51:34

That makes sense, and it's exciting to think about and and see where things are going. I uh I want to finish by asking you you mentioned at the end of the book telling that the next generation that working in sports was the greatest professional decision that you've ever made. But you were also pretty candid about sort of the bad pay, the rough hours, the sacrifices that come early in the career. If somebody came to you today and said, I want to do what you do, I want your job, what would you want them to know about what they were getting into or what they needed to accomplish in order to follow that path?

Jay Grider 52:12

I would say you need to be patient. You you're it it's it's not gonna be fun in the beginning. Well, it's always been fun. Man uh uh they would need to manage their expectations. You know, a kid coming out of college is not going to make the amount of money that they would hope to make. They're going to work hours that they don't want to work. They're going to do things that they don't want to do. Uh it's not my job, it's not in our vocabulary. Um you you won't make it in this business if if that's not my job is is part of your vocabulary. Um But again, if if if it's something that you really, really want to do and anything in life it's worth doing. There's it's gonna be good and bad times, or it's not gonna be as easy as you would think. But it's definitely worth it in the end. Um, I'm going on 38 years of doing this. Luckily, I was almost ten years in minor league baseball, which is some of the greatest times of my life. And I would also say to those folks, if they wanted to do what I do, try and start off working in minor league sports, because with that you do everything. Um, and it helps you find what your skill sets are and what you're really, really passionate and and would prefer to do. Um, and then that can kind of help you lead your way into um what what area within sports, whether that be at the pro level or the college level, or if it's operations or events, or if it's marketing or sales or whatever that might be. Um but I I strongly would say, you know, minor league sports is a great it'll separate the ones that do from the ones that think they want to pretty quick. Um, but again, at the same time, too, uh to your point, like I said, I I wouldn't trade it for the world. Uh I consider myself a very lucky person to have been able to do what I've done in my life. So um not everybody can say that.

Russell Ries 54:23

I totally understand. Jay Grider, the book is Last Call from the Minor Leagues to Nashville's Rise is a major sports destination. Thank you so much for your time. I've really enjoyed talking to you. Really loved reading the book. It's a really exciting one for anybody who's interested in Nashville history or Nashville sports. Thanks again. I appreciate you coming on.

Jay Grider 54:45

Russell, thank you, brother. I appreciate it,

Outro

Jay Grider 54:47

man. Take care.

Russell Ries 55:00

All right, well, that was my conversation with Jake Ryder. Thank you so much to him for coming on the show. I really like talking to him about sports and restaurants and everything in between. That will be our show for the week. Thank you so much, as always, for listening. We'd love to have you on if you want to come on and talk. We chat to us on social at or in the link down below in the appreciate you listening. Happy Labor Day.