On February 17, 2006, the Music City Center Task Force presented to Mayor Bill Purcell and the citizens of Nashville their report entitled The Music City Center for Nashville’s Future (MCC Report) recommending that a new convention center and hotel with parking be constructed downtown on a site in SoBro south of the Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC). At that time, Mayor Purcell asked the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business and Economic Research to assess the financial assumptions of the MCC Report. He simultaneously requested the Nashville Civic Design Center conduct an assessment of the location and design implications of the proposal, incorporating public meetings for community-wide input. The Mayor’s request to the Civic Design Center paralleled a similar recommendation for input and public meetings in the MCC Report.
