The 17,000-seat downtown arena on Lower Broadway is home to the Nashville Predators of the NHL and the main stop for nearly every major arena tour that passes through Tennessee. The venue was completed in 1996 — the city built it speculatively, without a tenant, to attract a major-league franchise; the gamble paid off when the NHL awarded Nashville the Predators in 1998.
Hockey nights are a particular Nashville set piece: the catfish on the ice tradition (an in-joke about throwing dead fish onto the rink before a big game), country stars singing the anthem, and a crowd that turns Broadway into a sea of yellow jerseys before and after. Concert tickets often include access to the Bridgestone Lounge on the upper levels. Some of the country music industry's largest awards shows — the CMAs, the CMTs — are also held here.