City Cast Nashville
🏙️ Your neighborhood guide to the Gulch
May 20, 2026 · 💌 Margaret Kingsbury
Happy Wednesday! Nate Bargatze and his team have selected an unknown Nashville-area site and purchased most of the land for a theme park named after the comedian. Nateland will include a ‘90s style mall and rides based on his jokes. What do you think of all this?
Today’s Top Story
🏈 The Super Bowl Is Coming to Nashville
It’s official: Nashville will host the Super Bowl in 2030 for the first time. “Hosting the Super Bowl, one of the largest events in the world, is a milestone moment for Nashville and Tennessee and reflects how far our city has come over the last several decades,” said Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp CEO Deana Ivey. Construction on the new Nissan Stadium should be finished by Feb. 2027. [Nashville Scene; 🔐 Nashville Business Journal]
- Celebration: Tonight at 7:30 p.m., head to Lower Broadway for a free community celebration in honor of the Super Bowl announcement. There will be fireworks and live music. [NewsChannel 5]
- The pros: Previous Super Bowls have generated $220+ million in economic impact for host cities, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
- Yes, but: Economists say the promised economic impact of hosting a Super Bowl is often overblown. Some worry that another ice storm could knock out our power grid. Plus, new East Bank developments are still in the works. Will construction be rushed ahead of the game? [Inc.; 🔐 The Tennessean; WKRN]
Are you excited, ambivalent, or annoyed about the Super Bowl coming to Nashville? Let me know what you think, and why!
Sponsored Content
Next Stop: A Summer Trains Spectacular at Cheekwood
America the Beautiful: National Parks & Landmarks by Rail
May 2 – September 6
All aboard! With 10 trains, 850 feet of track, and 25 iconic American destinations, this is Cheekwood’s largest outdoor train exhibit yet. Travel from coast to coast — no suitcase required. From the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge, each miniature model is a masterpiece of botanical architecture handcrafted from plant materials. Cheekwood’s permanent TRAINS! exhibit is also open, doubling the fun.
What's CITY Talking About
🏙️ Where To Go in the Gulch
The Gulch was once just a railroad gully, and now it’s full of gleaming highrises and rooftop bars. On today’s podcast, Jamaican DJ and proud Gulch resident merchant tells us where to go and what to do in this trendy neighborhood, from his favorite morning coffee spot to the local nightclub where he loves to perform. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
🛣️ What Could Jefferson Street Look Like?
The Jefferson Street Corridor Study proposes transforming the historic street from a car-centered roadway into a pedestrian-friendly corridor connecting neighborhoods. The proposal includes wider sidewalks, improved street crossings, more trees, public gathering spaces, and potentially bike and pedestrian bridges. While Jefferson Street was once a thriving cultural center, the 1960s construction of Interstate 40, which cut through North Nashville, displaced families and closed many businesses. [NewsChannel 5]
- Give feedback on the study at several community events or online. [Engage Nashville]
- Interstate construction also displaced this South Nashville Black neighborhood. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
✈️ BNA Ends Disability Program
Nashville International Airport has ended one of its BNA Cares programs, which allowed disabled veterans to park for free at the airport for up to 10 days. An airport spokesperson says it violated a federal law, though other airports have kept similar programs. Long-term parking in a BNA accessible garage space currently costs $33 a day. [NewsChannel 5]
- The airport is continuing other BNA Cares initiatives. [BNA]
- Listen to our episode on the state of disability access in Nashville. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
🧑⚖️ Challenges To Redistricting Get Consolidated
At the request of state attorneys, three legal challenges to Tennessee’s redrawn congressional maps are being merged into one. Chief U.S. District Judge William Campbell, Jr., a Pres. Trump appointee, has been assigned the consolidated challenges. A hearing for a fourth challenge is scheduled for May 21. [Tennessee Lookout]
- Republican state Rep. Scott DesJarlais (District 4) told reporters, “If the president hadn’t asked that to happen [redistricting], it probably wouldn’t have.” [NOTUS]
What To Do
Wednesday, May 20
- 🚲 Nashville Connector Group Bike Ride | Public Square Park | 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- 🎸 Getting Started with Guitar | Inglewood Library Branch | 4-5 p.m.
- 🫑 Wedgewood-Houston Farmers Market | The Outfield | 4-7 p.m.
- 📺 Survivor 50 Finale Viewing Party | East Nashville Beer Works | 5:30-10 p.m.
- 🎶 Meet and Three | Harken Hall | 6:30 p.m.
- ⭐ Jesus Christ Superstar | Turner Theater | 7 p.m.
- 🎸 Mixtape x Noise Pollution: The Music of AC/DC | The Basement East | 8 p.m.
- 🎤 Diljit Dosanjh | Bridgestone Arena | 8 p.m.
- 💃 Alyssa Edwards | Marathon Music Works | 8 p.m.
Thursday, May 21
- 🚂 America the Beautiful: National Parks & Landmarks by Rail (through Sept. 6) | Cheekwood | 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- 🐶 Read with Me: Nashville Therapy Pets | Southeast Library Branch | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
- 📕 Banned: A Book Happy Hour | The Blue Room | 6 p.m.
- 🌪️ DVL Training - Volunteer Leadership in Disasters | Virtual | 6-7:30 p.m.
- 🎨 Paint It Forward Vol. 3 | CASS Contemporary | 6-8 p.m.
- 🐦⬛ The Black Crowes & Whiskey Myers | Bridgestone Arena | 6:30 p.m.
- 🀄 Beginner Mahjong Lesson | Pharmacy Burger | 6:30-9 p.m.
- 🎸 Alter Bridge with Sevendust & Tim Montana | The Pinnacle | 7 p.m.
- 🪦 Cemetery Prom | The Amsterdamian | 8 p.m.
Starting today, NDOT is resuming its normal brush schedule after Winter Storm Fern cleanup. Crews collected over 2.1 million cubic yards of storm vegetation debris! Hats off to the NDOT crews.
Free · Daily