📍 Nashville, Tennessee
🏒 Home of the Nashville Predators

An expansion franchise for the 1998-99 season, the success and community involvement of the NHL’s Nashville Predators over the last 25 years has completely revolutionized the sport of hockey in the South. Fostering a growing passion for the sport, the Preds thrill crazed Music City crowds at impressive Bridgestone Arena, a state-of-the-art venue just off neon-lit Honky Tonk Highway. The arena is situated on the corner of 5th and Broadway diagonally across from world famous Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry; today, the home of the Predators carries on the city’s rich music heritage through concerts, shows and sports.

Where did the Predators moniker come from?
The name was suggested by then-owner Craig Leipold, inspired by a sabertooth tiger skull that was unearthed in 1971 during the construction of a downtown Nashville skyscraper.

Bridgestone Arena was built in 1996 in anticipation of the arrival of a professional team in Nashville and holds more than 17,000 fans for hockey. The venue can pack in nearly 20,000 for other events, however, like concerts and awards shows. In fact, Bridgestone Arena hosts more concerts than anywhere else in the country, with the exception of Las Vegas. Featuring a lopsided upper level that has expansive seating in one end and just a few rows in the other, the arena’s unique design allows performers to set up their stage at the smaller end in order to face the larger sections. Singers like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles – and every country music artist in between – have had their time in the spotlight at Bridgestone Arena and, over the past quarter-century, many world-class events have also been held here, including the CMA Awards Show and NHL All-Star Game in 2016.

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But the main draw is still the beloved Predators. The team’s notably raucous fanbase has earned both the arena and city the affectionate nickname of “Smashville,” coined in 2002 to describe the bedlam that surrounds each and every gameday on Broadway. A result of their endless efforts, the Preds have cultivated what is truly the best atmosphere in pro sports.

It all begins hours before puck drop with a pop-up fan zone in the arena’s main courtyard. Games, blow-ups and hangout areas keep fans entertained and excited as they wait for the doors to open and also draws in curious folks from Honky Tonk Highway. Once the fans have made it inside, it’s time for the electrifying pre-game show, featuring hype videos combined with on-ice projections. As they’re introduced to the roaring sea of fans, players enter the ice through a giant sabertooth tiger head that descends from the ceiling. The team’s mascot, cleverly named Gnash, also repels down from the roof to resounding cheers. Finally, a live organist plays a few tunes to really set the mood.

During intermissions and breaks in the action, a live band blasts music throughout the arena – this is Music City, after all. The goal horn also resoundingly resonates, a super loud classic klaxon that feels like it comes straight from a coliseum of yesteryear. A sabertooth tiger sound effect plays after every goal too, keeping count of how many scores the home team has. And above it all hangs the “FangVision,” a high-definition scoreboard that features tooth-shaped panels on each corner.

Of course, fans need fuel to get them through all three periods of excitement. Bridgestone Arena boasts a plethora of wonderful concessions, the caliber of which competes well with the quality cuisine found outside on Broadway. Southern-inspired bars and beer stands are scattered all throughout the concourse, highlighted by a Jack Daniels bar with a live radio broadcaster in the corner. As for sweet treats, there’s ice cream in souvenir goalie masks, cotton candy vending machines and even frozen cocktails.

The Legend of the Catfish
For decades, Detroit Red Wings fans have thrown octopi on their home ice, a gesture that’s been considered good luck. A self-proclaimed “non-traditional hockey town,” Nashville logically needed their own twist on the tradition. Since 2002, diehard Preds fans have smuggled catfish into Bridgestone Arena and tossed them onto the ice, a practice popularized even further during the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. In recent years, the team has placed a catfish touch-tank on the main concourse during the playoffs, embracing this whacky tradition by bringing the catfish straight to the fans.

The Smashville faithful were named the “Best Fans in Sports” in 2017 – and justifiably so. Their catfish affinity aside, the Bridgestone Arena crowd cheers or jeers each and every shot, hit and goal. Chants are particularly popular, as the arena collectively likes to mock the opposing team. For example, when the Predators go shorthanded, the PA announcer proclaims that the away team is on the powerplay and the fans reply, “…and they still suck!” Section 303 leads the charge, acting like a supporters section at a soccer stadium. Composed of the rowdiest Preds fans around, the section has its own website for fans to see a full listing of all the chants used during games.

And the unorthodox devotion of their fans have led the Predators to great success. The team appeared in their first Stanley Cup Final in 2017, succumbing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games but cementing a legacy forever. Since then, the Preds have been perennial playoff contenders, winning their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy in 2018 and clinching back-to-back division titles in ’18 and ’19. As evidenced by their winning ways, fan engagement and through their community outreach all across middle Tennessee, it’s become abundantly clear that the Predators are proud to have their hunting grounds at Bridgestone Arena.