Intro

Russell Ries 0:38

All right, welcome to Nashville Sports Report. We will get to Carnell Tate's breakout game, Nashville's continued soccer dominance, and the rest of this week's local sports news in a little bit, but first this week's interview. My

Monica Fawknotson introduction

Russell Ries 0:54

guest this week is Monica Focknitson, president of Metro Nashville Sports Authority. The Sports Authority sits in a pretty unique position in this city. It oversees many of the major public sports facilities Nashville has built over the years, and it has a role in some of the biggest projects saving what the city's sports landscape will look like in the future. Monica's own path to that job is an interesting one. And I recently had the chance to talk with her about how she got there, what the Sports Authority actually does, Nashville's continued growth as a sports city, and how some of the major facilities and projects around town fit into that broader picture. We also talked about her own relationship with sports in Nashville and a number of other topics along the way. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Monica Falkinson.

Monica Fawknotson Interview

Russell Ries 1:43

All right. Well, Monica, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you taking the time to come on the show. How are you?

Monica Fawknotson 1:50

Oh, I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to talking to you.

Russell Ries 1:54

Absolutely. I'm going to dive right in. I have a few questions that I ask everyone, starting with what is your earliest sports memory?

Monica Fawknotson 2:01

So, Russell, I'm a coach's kid. My dad was a college basketball coach. And so all of my earliest memories are at Memorial Gymnasium. He was an assistant basketball coach at Theaterville.

Russell Ries 2:14

Oh, wow. Uh, what what era was he coaching?

Monica Fawknotson 2:18

78 to 84 with Sam Newton and a couple of coaches before him. Richard Schmidt, Wayne Dobbs. Oh, cool.

Russell Ries 2:29

That's awesome. That may answer the second question I ask everyone, which is how did you end up in Nashville?

Monica Fawknotson 2:36

That is, I've I've had two stints in Nashville. So the first one obviously was as a little girl when dad was coaching. And then, like college basketball coaches do, we moved around, we left Nashville, made a few other stops. Um, and then I moved back to Nashville in 2001 after graduate school and um had some had some friends in Nashville, always loved the city and just wanted to come back.

Russell Ries 3:01

That's great. And so you've been here, you've seen a lot of the you know, the real Nashville professional sports era. What is your favorite Nashville sports memory or moment?

Monica Fawknotson 3:14

So I think my favorite moment would be that 2017 Stanley Cup run. I mean, it was anyone who was there just it was so I don't have words for it. It was just, it was just fantastic. Uh, you know, you think about 50 to 100,000 people on Broadway. And if you remember, the game six was the closing night of the CMA music festival, right? So it was kind of this convergence of hockey and Nashville and music and rooftop parties, and it was, it was, it was great.

Russell Ries 3:54

It was a wonderful time. And it does feel like that moment in particular kind of announced Nashville in a way. I don't know if that's safe to say or not, but I think I think everybody outside of the city realized perhaps seeing those images, what we had going on.

Monica Fawknotson 4:10

I think it was different. I do. I think it was different. Obviously, we had not hosted the NFL draft at that point. That was still a couple years out. And so I want to say good morning, America was there at some point, but I do think you know everybody's eyes were on Nashville, and I don't think they were expecting what they saw. And it was it was fantastic.

Russell Ries 4:32

Your professional path, how did you go from moving back to Nashville to eventually leading you into where you are now with Metro Sports Authority?

Monica Fawknotson 4:42

So I think growing up in an athletic family as a coach's kid, I I always loved sports. And I had a dad who always made me feel a part of everything that he did. And I would ride on the bus, I would hang out in the gym. And so I just loved the atmosphere. And then I went to UT for graduate school, studied sports administration. Wasn't exactly sure where I was gonna go. I was really thinking sports media, um, sports information, but I ended up moving to Nashville and I taught, um, taught at a metro school for a year and and loved it. It was, it was actually it was 2001. I got to the school, it's right middle school off Nolansville Road, right? It's a very diverse school. I got there about two or three weeks after September 11th, and it was just a very intense time. But I love the students, I love the experience, but still wanted to get back in sports. And my dad called me one day and he said, he said, I was at the basketball tournament. He said, I ran into an old friend, Walter Overton. He's the head of the sports council, and I told him that you that you were back in Nashville and he'd love to meet you. So, Russell, I I I look up the sports council, and I don't see Walter's name anywhere because he was actually at the sports authority, not the sports council. So I ended up reaching out to him. We we met, hit it off. He actually had someone in his office who was leaving to go on maternity leave. And it's like, you should just come come work with me for a few months and see what you think. And I got there and I loved it. And I had no idea that there was this intersection of sports and tourism and public finance and facility management. And I just loved it.

Russell Ries 6:34

You raise a really good point when you mentioned sort of conflating sports council and the sports authority. For people listening who may not understand the difference between the two, can you kind of delineate what it is that the sports authority does versus the sports council?

Monica Fawknotson 6:51

Yeah, and I really appreciate that question because it it happens a lot. The sports council, their mission is really to impact the economy through sports and through sporting events. So you think of the sports council, you think of the SEC basketball tournament, big events like that, which impact the economy. The sports authority, we are venue managers. We're about the facilities. And so we work very closely together because we want events in our buildings and you know they need facilities for their events. So we work very closely. And I will say, when I first came to the sports authority, people would call all of the time asking for trampolines, shoes, because they thought we were the retail store.

Russell Ries 7:39

That is really funny. So correct me if I'm wrong, but the sports authority is a branch of the Metro government, and as such, it it sort of helps oversee on the city's behalf the the various venues, Nissan Stadium, Bridgestone, Geodis Park. How does that partnership with the various teams work? Where's the line drawn when you partner with those organizations?

Monica Fawknotson 8:03

The short answer is we really are a owner landlord, and the teams are our tenants. And I mean, I think I think we can all understand how that analogy works. So we we own the building, but it's their home. And so they take care of it, they operate their events, um, but everything is operated through a contract, right? That defines the roles and responsibilities. And the contracts are going to look different based on the venue and based on the team. And so, you know, you you may pay a flat rent, or maybe you don't pay rent because some of your responsibilities include funding capital projects on your own. So everything that we do really is through the lens of these governing contracts.

Russell Ries 8:57

You know, that helps me understand too. Because when I think of, say, for example, the new Nissan Stadium that's getting built right now, it seemed to me, based on what you're saying, really, the sports authority, when you step in, is more once the ribbon's cut and it's an actual operating venue. Is that correct? Or do you guys have some role in the current construction as well?

Monica Fawknotson 9:17

Or you know, part of our role with Metro is to be a public instrumentality. So basically, we allow Metro and help Metro do some things it couldn't otherwise do. So Metro can't issue revenue bonds. So the sports authority comes and does that to help with the financing of the venues. But we also are charged with financing, operating the venues, maintaining them, constructing them. So it's it's everything. But then some of the ways that we operate the building may be by hiring a management company to come and run the everyday thing. So my team is not taking up tickets, we're not popping the popcorn, but each venue has a management company that does that.

Russell Ries 10:06

Okay. So to kind of continue with that landlord analogy, just in the way like uh somebody might hire a property manager to run out their rental unit or something, that might be a similar agreement where the sports authority would identify the folks who would help then work with the organization to run those buildings. Is that fair to say?

Monica Fawknotson 10:26

Yeah, I think that I do think that's fair. And if you look at sports authorities, because there are a number of them around the country, then each one works differently, right? And so there are some who are who are very involved in the daily management of the venue, but the sports authority works with the management companies that the Titans or the Predators have for Bridgeton Arena and Nissan Stadium to do a lot of that work. But we are gonna also be the, we're gonna have oversight. We're gonna make sure that we are upholding our end of the agreement and the contract, and also that the team is doing what they have promised to do in the contracts as well.

Russell Ries 11:07

So it must be a very interesting time to be in the role that you all are in. I think about the fact that we have a new stadium on the horizon, we have GEODIS Park, which just came online a few years ago, First Horizon Park, but then there's a place like Municipal Auditorium, which has been servicing Nashville for sport events and concerts since what, the early 60s, I think. How does a place like Municipal, with its history and its, you know, sort of more archaic setup and whatnot, how do you see that fitting in to Nashville of the future?

Monica Fawknotson 11:44

Well, and a lot of people assume that municipal is one of our venues and it's not, but there is a um a metro department, there's the a commission that oversees municipal. That being said, municipal is I think very important to us. It's very important to the city, obviously, from a historical standpoint. There's so many people, and I include myself in this since I was in Nashville as a little girl who grew up going to, you know, to watch the Harlem Globetrotters and the Ice Capades and so many concerts. Um, and so I think there's a real nostalgia around that venue. You know, today there's still a number of events, obviously civic events and graduations. The last couple of years, Athletes Unlimited, um, the Women's Basketball League was um that was their home. And, you know, still concerts and shows and events. And so it's it's a special place and a fantastic location. And with a seating capacity of around, I want to say eight to ten thousand, depending on what the event is. You know, it's uh it's it's important to have that size venue.

Russell Ries 12:53

I'm glad you mentioned Athletes Unlimited, too. I'm curious, we have all these venues, but currently Nashville, other than the recently announced Nashville vibe, feels like we are lacking in women's sports. And you know, I've said on the show a number of times, I would love to see either a WNBA team or a women's soccer team. If Nashville were to land one of those sorts of organizations, what would a process look like finding them a home or incorporating them into existing structures? And how upfront would the sports authority be in that process?

Monica Fawknotson 13:27

So the sports authority, if you go back to women's sports and really this conversation around women's sports, I like to say started with the sports authority in some ways, because back in 2019, we had a couple of board members who said, you know, we've got amazing teams, amazing venues. We don't have any women playing in them. So how do we how do we change that? And so the sports authority ended up engaging a consultant to come in and really just take a look at the market and what are the opportunities for women's professional sports here in Nashville? What are the venues and the assets that we already have, not just ones owned by the city, but looking at um at Memorial Gym, looking at Curb Center and all of the all of the venues that that we have. And so from that report, the WMBA and the um NWSL, the Women's Soccer League, not surprisingly, those were the two that really kind of rose to the top. The crazy or unfortunate thing is that this report came out about a month into COVID. And so at that point, nobody's playing. Obviously, the leagues were not looking at expansion, but our media partners and outlets were fantastic. They really were very interested and invested in is Nashville going to get a WNBA team? Are we gonna have professional women's sports in Nashville? Really kept the conversation and the narrative going. Um, so we went back and we did a second phase to this report that went a little bit deeper and we pushed out some surveys, we had focus groups, met with some corporate executives just to understand what kind of support the community would bring, where their interest was. And we were just really pleasantly surprised by the support around women's professional sports in Nashville and a real desire to see that come here.

Russell Ries 15:25

So, me as just some random guy, Nashville, is there anything I can do as an individual or anyone listening could do as an individual to help move the process forward or signify the desire for women's sports here in Nashville?

Monica Fawknotson 15:40

So I would say the biggest thing you can do right now is support the Nashville vibe. We are we're so excited to have them here and looking at upshot and this new league that is going to give women a real, a better opportunity, more opportunities to play. We have so much basketball talent, very few roster spaces, obviously, across the WNBA. And so we do see so many of these elite athletes, our elite athletes going to play overseas. And so a league like Upshot really will give them another option. And so we're excited to have the vibe in Nashville. They'll start playing in May. And so we just want everybody to be supportive. Go buy tickets, go buy season tickets. That's the best thing you can do right now.

Russell Ries 16:23

All right. That's a great thing to do. On a broader scale, you've been with the sports authority now for close to 15, 20 years.

Monica Fawknotson 16:32

Yes, I've been the head of the sports authority for maybe 11 years, I think next month. And I came in 2000, 2006.

Russell Ries 16:42

So you've really been able to watch Nashville go from a city with a couple of professional franchises, one of them which we almost lost right around the time you were coming to the Sports Authority, to now we've got Nashville SC, we've got the Nashville vibe. What is it about Nashville that has allowed the city to grow in the way that it has?

Monica Fawknotson 17:04

Um, you know, I think I think number one, I think we've had very strategic leadership, right? Going back to Governor Bredison and his vision to bring an arena downtown at a time where nobody wanted to come downtown. A lot of naysayers didn't think that would work. And then, and a lot of people don't know this, but I would say probably maybe around 2010, there was a group of city leaders that that came together and kind of formed what they called a sports visioning committee and and looked at cities um, you know, like Indianapolis and just said, what would Nashville need to do to really kind of grow and rise up as a sports city? And so there were a lot of conversations about that. So, you know, David Williams at Vanderbilt was part of that group, and Ralph Schultz with Chamber and Butch Spearden, and Scott Ramsey, the sports counsel, Emmett Edwards was the um executive director of the sports authority at that time. And so there was just, I think, some real intention and looking at what we offered, looking at, you know, how do we go outside maybe some of the traditional sports. I think Indianapolis has done that so well. And obviously the NCAA is headquartered there. And but even looking at Olympic sports and just how do you let's get creative about what we can do. And so in 2019, when the when Nashville was named by the Sports Business Journal as the number one sports city, I was talking to one of the reporters and I was telling him this. I said, you know, everybody's looking at Nashville. I said, but we really, this is a 10-year overnight success story. There's there's been a lot of people involved in this for a long time. So I think we've got we've had great leadership. I think we have, we do have great teams, and I think there's a real spirit of collaboration. Obviously, you know, there's still competition, you know, but I think all of the teams really believe that a rising tide lifts all votes. And so we see uh we see them support one another. You know, I think that was one of the really positive things and things that we heard from from Major League Soccer, you know, around the time that we were awarded the franchises, that they were really impressed at how the um president of the Titans and the president of the Predators also got involved in this bid and this effort and showed up. And um, and so I think we I think we've got we've got a great community and a great sports ecosystem. I think our location helps when you look at Bridgestone Arena and Lower Broadway and then Nissan Stadium on the other side of the river. I think it makes for just a great atmosphere. And we just we've just had a lot of support, and of course, fantastic fans and you know, Nashville and Tennesseans who've just really come out and supported. It's been really a joy to watch.

Russell Ries 20:05

And there's so many questions I want to ask coming out of that answer, but I want to start with uh you mentioned MLS, and I feel like with Bridgestone Arena, which was originally the GEC, Gaylord Entertainment Center, or Adelphia Column Cum, uh, when those were built in the late 90s, it felt more like let's get it down, let's you know, create it, let's have it, and we'll bring someone in. GOEDIS Park feels different to me. It feels like it was a lot more intentional about the way that it was placed and their sight lines. And I mean, you can get up on that eastern stand and you can look out and you can see the big Nashville SC sign with downtown Nashville in the distance. And it feels like there was a lot more sort of a uniquely Nashville-centric approach to that stadium. I'm having a hard time kind of putting my finger on what that would be, but is that is that a fair thing to say?

Monica Fawknotson 20:57

Listen, you nailed it. You nailed it because as we sat in some of these early design meetings talking about it with, you know, obviously on the campus of the fairgrounds and um and with the executive director of the of the fairgrounds, that was one of the things that became very clear was that we all wanted a venue that was uniquely Nashville. That's what we kept saying. And what does that look like for something to be uniquely Nashville? And so whether it's the steel and the wood and uh and and and kind of playing off of exhibition halls down the down the hill where the fairgrounds and the flea market is, we really sought something that was going to be unique and specific to Nashville. And you're right, I mean, it is a fantastic venue. It has won international design awards, I think about maybe a year ago, won an award. And it was, I mean, they they gave this award out at the base of the Parthenon in Greece. So give me this a big time award. And so we're very, very Proud of the of the venue. We have fantastic venue managers. And I think to watch to watch the city and the fans come from all over Nashville and feel very at home and welcome. And it's a wonderfully diverse, beautiful venue. We're just very proud of it.

Russell Ries 22:22

Yeah, I feel the same way as a fan and native Nashville. It's just like, this is our stadium. This is so cool. I think now, too, I live over on the east side of town. So whenever I drive anywhere, I get sort of an update of the new Titans, new Nissan Stadium. I get to kind of see how it's progressed. And something that strikes me about it is it's not just a stadium, but it's really the centerpiece of a much larger, essentially civic redesign of a vast swath of area. What is it like being involved in a project of that magnitude? Just even having a hand in something that's really going to transform the face of this city for the next hundred years or so for the sports authority and for you as an individual, what's that been like?

Monica Fawknotson 23:10

Well, there's no question about it. I think the East Bank and the redevelopment of the East Bank, building a new Nashville neighborhood can be quite transformational for our city. And so there's there's a lot of excitement. I think people feel the weightiness of it and wanting to get it right. And obviously the East Bank Development Authority is is leading that effort. So the new the new Nissan Stadium, while a big part of it is just a part of a much larger project. And there are so many, so many cooks in the kitchen, I like to say, right? We'll be done with the stadium in in February, and then you know, shortly after, and I mean three to four weeks after that, we'll start demolition of the original stadium and all of the, you know, there's so much infrastructure work that needs to be done. And and then your tea pack is will be constructed there. And so you start to look at, you know, the pedestrian bridge and um and so many things that also now need to be um Super Bowl ready. So there's a lot going on on the site, and of course, the the private developments and it's a massive effort. And so we're we're excited to be part of it. It's it's we yeah, we feel very fortunate to be part of this and and excited that the new Nissan Stadium will be part of that growing vibrant neighborhood.

Russell Ries 24:40

You mentioned the Super Bowl, and for me, it certainly feels like a crescendo of everything that has happened with Nashville as a sports city over the last 30 or so years. Suddenly we're building to having the Super Bowl here in 2030. And I kind of have a two-part question for you on that. Is one, does the announcement of the Super Bowl affect or change anything that you as the sports authority are trying to accomplish? And two, where does the city go from there? How do we build off of you know one of the largest sporting events in the world? What should we look for beyond the Super Bowl?

Monica Fawknotson 25:16

You know, I think the the sports authority's most important role in the Super Bowl was the stadium, was financing and working, partnering with the Titans on the stadium, because without that, clearly there's no Super Bowl. So, in many ways, our our job will be done. We also, like I mentioned earlier, are involved in kind of some different ways and some of the surrounding infrastructure, and we'll continue to do that. But we want to come in and support the NCV and the Titans and the city. There will be a lot of work to do. I mean, as I talk to people, they say, just imagine the biggest event you can conceive of and you know, 10x it, right? This is gonna be like nothing we have seen before. And so, you know, we we're gonna be supportive in in any way that we can. Some of these things we may not, we may not even fully understand until we get a little bit closer. And and that's what happened to with the draft on a kind of a different level. There were some things that as the owners of the land and the venue that we needed to do, but we'll we'll be ready and we are boy extremely excited and and honored to be part um of a Super Bowl in Nashville. And you know, and you ask where do we go from here? I mean, this is the intent with the Super Bowl is not a one and done, right? We want to be in the rotation where we're seeing um, we're seeing the Super Bowl come back and come back again. But with the new stadium, we also do want to see the final four. We want to see the college football championships and WWE apparently is another one that people just I've been asked about a lot. And so there's there's a lot of, I think, unbelievable events that are coming. And you know, once you pull off the Super Bowl, it it really the sky's the limit. It's go it's gonna be fantastic.

Russell Ries 27:12

You know, you mentioned WWE. I spoke with Jay Grider a few weeks ago on the show, and I feel like he uh he will be the tip of the spear on the WWE stuff. Seems very gung up for that. Pivoting back now to Nissan, current Nissan Stadium. I bought tickets for the final game because I'm a you know a fan of history and and a fan of Titans, but can I just bring some wrenches and take my seat home with me? Or if are is there going to be a way for fans to eventually acquire some of the pieces that get torn out of the stadium once demolition begins? Or has there been any talk about that?

Monica Fawknotson 27:49

Please leave your wrench at home on is that January 3rd, I think. Yes, ma'am. Please leave your wrench at home. And you know, we we've been working a lot with the Titans and really trying to develop a plan um for some of the excess property and and salvage items. Obviously, the seats come to mind for a lot of people. And we do have a contract with a a wholesale seating vendor who um has agreed to purchase a certain number with an option to purchase more. Um, and so we're very thankful for that. But a lot of the things inside that stadium were were purchased with public money. Some things were purchased by the Titans, and so it's been really reviewing inventory list and looking to understand what belongs to who. And then we've um been reaching out to Metro agencies and saying, here's some of the things that we think we're gonna have because we do want to reuse what we can and be good stewards of those items, and so that is part of what we are working working on now. Um, my understanding is the the Titans are working on a website. I don't, I'm not sure if it's up yet or not, but where fans will be able to purchase memorabilia. And but that's I can't really speak to that. They they're doing that.

Russell Ries 29:05

Fair enough. Well, I guess I'll leave my wrenches at home. Uh that is an exciting development. And then once the stadium, you mentioned it's gonna be a really quick turnaround. New Nissan Stadium opens, and then demolition is gonna begin on old Nissan Stadium. And I mean, they're basically breathing on each other. So that is gonna be a pretty complicated process, isn't it? The demolition of the old stadium.

Monica Fawknotson 29:28

It's just gonna be a takedown, right? People I've been asked, are they gonna implode the you know, the original stadium? And like they're about they're I think 96 feet apart. So they're we will not be imploding anything, but it's gonna be a process, and we're gonna have to take it down and take it down, you know, very carefully. But you know, there's a there's a demolition contractor, all of that was part of the the project and the stadium project. And so um, so there is definitely a group that is focused on that, and that is their specialty, and I know they will handle it with care.

Russell Ries 30:01

Cool. And then once the demolition is complete, I believe the plan is to turn most of that into a park.

Monica Fawknotson 30:08

That's correct. And and it may be a while before that happens, right? It may be and maybe more land and gravel than park initially, but yes, it will eventually be a park, green space.

Russell Ries 30:20

Well, we can always use more of that. It's exciting to think about what the whole face of the East Bank will look like down the line. I'm gonna completely segue off in a totally different direction now because uh in preparing to speak with you and kind of looking uh into the sports authority a little bit, something I I never knew was that Ed Temple was one of the original members of the Sports Authority. And he, of course, is one of the luminaries of Nashville Sports. Did you ever have a chance to cross paths with him?

Monica Fawknotson 30:51

Oh yeah, I served. I served and worked with Coach Temple for, you know, up until, you know, up until he was, you know, too ill to serve on the board. Um, but he he was such a faithful and committed member of the sports authority. We loved him and he boy, he he loved the sports authority. And are you familiar with the Ed Temple statue that's behind the first trying to park? Oh, yeah, yeah. So that is, I mean, that's that is the sports authorities. And so we were thankfully, we were able to dedicate and commemorate that. There's an Ed Temple statue committee with Bo Roberts and some of the Tiger Bells who fundraised, raised the money for it, but then they turned it over to the sports authority. And so we were able to dedicate that to him while he was still living. And I mean, he he's just such a legend and iconic. And, you know, even when he was very sick and he he called me and he said, Monica, I I think that I need to, I think it's time for me to resign. He said, I'm I can't really get to the meetings. And I said, Well, you, you know, you can always, you can always be on the board. And I was trying to figure out, you know, can we can make him a member emeritus? I was trying to figure out how to keep him involved. And he said, no. He said, I just strongly believe that, you know, my duty was to serve. And when I can't serve the way that I need to and want to, it's time to give someone else that opportunity. And so he was, he really was a joy. Also, uh, Coach Katana Starks served on our board for a while, another well-known TSU coaching legend, coached the golf golf team. There's a movie about her from the Rough with Taraji P. Henson. So she served on our board. She also um was the head of the sports management department at TSU for a while. So when she was appointed to the board and I, you know, took her out to breakfast to just really get to know her, she said, I've been watching the sports authority for a very long time. And we would talk about it in my classes, and and she's she was very honored to be on our board, and we were honored to have her.

Russell Ries 33:04

It's incredible the legacy that TSU Athletics has provided to this city. And I think I'm very glad that that temple statue is there. My dirty little secret as someone who has a national sports podcast, I haven't been to a sounds game since they left Greer Stadium, which is why I haven't actually seen the statue.

Monica Fawknotson 33:23

We got to fix that because that is also such a wonderful venue, and um has been, I think, just such a gift to to the community and you know, and to obviously baseball is and and minor league baseball is um so family friendly on a different level, but it's a it's a fantastic venue as well, and great leadership over there at the sounds.

Russell Ries 33:47

That does make me wonder. I've had Nancy Schultz from Music City Baseball on the show a few months ago. Has there been any communication with that organization between Sports Authority or the City? And and where does the city stand on the idea of Major League Baseball coming to town?

Monica Fawknotson 34:04

I will hear from them and get updates every now and then. And and I think we're just I think we're just waiting like everybody else to see what happens. Obviously, the city's not been asked for funding um or anything like that at this point. And so so yeah, I'm I'm with everyone else, just kind of waiting and watching this unfold. And obviously it seems like there's a lot of interest in Nashville, but we've not been extremely involved and really involved in these conversations at all.

Russell Ries 34:34

Well, that I guess that makes sense until there's there's something to present, there's not much to talk about. But I guess I want to end on you have overseen an era of incredible growth and expansion in Nashville sports, and um, you know, really changing the face of this city. When you think about 10, 15, 20 years, 30 years down the line, what would you like to see for Nashville and what would you like the legacy of your time at Sports Authority to be?

Monica Fawknotson 35:05

You know, the the Sports Authority has we've been we've been involved in a lot and the evolution of sports in Nashville has has been really fascinating to watch and and again just led by so many good people, but with with fans and a base that has really just kind of stuck with it and has also been very excited as different opportunities have come. I mean, I I look at, you know, when the when the predators first came and you know, we didn't know a lot about hockey. And I think the predators were genius in terms of saying we've got to go build and raise a fan base, right? And so we're gonna really focus on youth hockey. And we know that if we do that well, 10, 15, 20 years from now, we're gonna have a fan base that we've built from, you know, from kids who were little who've been raised up in the area. And so I think watching that has been has been a lot of fun. I think the same thing with soccer and watching Nashville um really become a sports city. And I think I think it was 2025 last year, the sports business journal ranked us as I think number 20, the 25th sports city, which is huge, you know, when you think about where we were. And so I I think we're gonna continue to rise up in some of these polls. Um, this year in 2026, we were ranked the 15th best city for sporting events by the by the business, sports business journal. And so I think that as we uh bring the new stadium online, I think you know there's gonna be renovations, major renovations planned for Bridgestone Arena. I think there's just a lot of things that are still yet to come. And uh I think it's just gonna be an incredibly fun place to watch. I think you when you marry the the sports and the entertainment and music, it's a it's a formula for for success. And I think we've seen that and we'll continue to see that. But but I do think that Nashville's and the fans are are always the secret sauce, and um, and we're so grateful for them.

Russell Ries 37:13

Well, it's certainly an exciting time to be a Nashville sports fan and see all the changes and the growth the city's going through. Are there any you have any final thoughts or things that I should have asked that you'd like to express to the Nashville sports community?

Monica Fawknotson 37:29

I I think you've done a great job. I've loved the questions and and I love talking about this. And this is a lot of fun for me. And and and like I said before, we're we're so grateful to all of the fans, to to those who come from um, you know, from Nashville, from outside Nashville, all through Tennessee. Um it's it's it's been great. And and I think the other thing, and I'll say this real quick, is we're we're seeing this more and more. And people ask me a lot about about basketball and and and and college basketball, because we're seeing these other games and friendly games, and where people, you know, the ACC or SEC, but people want to come to Nashville and play a game. And I think that's fun. And as I've talked to some of the the promoters, they're like, everybody wants to come to Nashville. So even if they aren't a Nashville team, they're trying to figure out how to get here and play. And and I think that says a lot too.

Russell Ries 38:24

I couldn't agree more. Monica Fawknotson, president of Metro Nashville Sports Authority. Thank you so much for your time. Love to have you back whenever you want to come on. I really appreciate you spending the time speaking to me.

Monica Fawknotson 38:36

And uh thanks for thanks for the invitation, Russell. I love what you're doing and call me anytime.

Russell Ries 38:42

Awesome. Thank you so much.

Weekly Recap

Russell Ries 38:44

All right. Well, my thanks again to Monica for coming on. I really enjoyed speaking with her and learned a lot, I think, about the city and how the Sports Authority is engaged and what's happening around Nashville. I think it was a very illuminating conversation, and I hope you do too. Now quickly on to this past week's recap. The Titans lost again 24-18 at the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, falling to 0-4. Cam Ward was 20-31 for 222 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Rookie Carnell Tate had a breakout game, catching nine passes for 145 yards. Hopefully, this is the start of something really great for the two of them. The Titans committed two first half turnovers and came away empty on an early first and goal opportunity, which ultimately was the difference in the game. Today the Titans host the 0-4 Houston Texans in a battle of winless teams. It's the Titans' first AFC South game of the season, and of course, they are still looking for their first win. That game is at noon. Yesterday in college football, Vanderbilt lost 52-17 to No. 9 Ole Miss, falling to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in SEC play. They play again next week versus Arkansas at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Middle Tennessee State did not play this week. They returned to action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. facing Delaware. Tennessee State lost 42-28 to UT Martin, falling to 1-5 overall, and 0-2 in OBC play. They next host Morgan State on Saturday at 5 30 p.m. The Predators had a busy week. On Tuesday, they lost in overtime at the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4. Then Thursday, they won 5-2 at the Montreal Canadiens. And then finally last night, they lost again in overtime at the Ottawa Senators 3-2. They also acquired defenseman Jaden Strubel from Montreal in exchange for a 2027 second round pick. This coming week, the Preds return home for a three-game home stand starting on Tuesday versus the Vegas Golden Knights. Then Thursday, they welcomed the San Jose Sharks, and finally on Saturday, they host the St. Louis Blues. Vanderbilt Women's Soccer continued their hot streak, beating Missouri 1-0 on Friday, improving to 12-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in SEC play. They are still the number one ranked team in the country. On Thursday, they host the Florida Gators. That game is at 6 p.m. And they are doing $1 admissions. I'll put a link in the description below. They're doing a blackout for the game, so buy your cheap ticket, wear some black, and get on out to the game. Eventually winning 4-1, although it could have been a lot higher if it weren't for a number of shots that hit the crossbar in the post and nearly avoided going in. Nashville now sit on an MLS record 63 points through 28 games. It's also a club record 23 wins across all competitions, and a club record 59 regular season goals. On Wednesday, they welcome Sporting Kansas City to Geodis Park. That should be an eventful game. Nashville is one of the hottest goal scoring teams in the league, and Sporting Kansas City is known for letting in lots of goals. Following that match, they head out to San Jose on Saturday night for what should be a good match with a strong Western Conference contender.

Outro

Russell Ries 42:30

Alright, that is our show for this week. My thanks again to Monica Fawknotson for coming on the show. My thanks to Valda Barksdale for arranging the interview with Monica. I appreciate both of you working with me to get that done. My thanks, of course, to you for listening, as always. You can reach us on social media at NSH Sports Report. That's on Blue Sky or Twitter. We are also at our website, www.nationalsportsreport.com. You can also reach out to us through the link below in the description. We'd love to hear from you. Hope you have a wonderful week. Thanks for listening.