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Sommet Center Information
Sommet Center (formerly Nashville Arena and Gaylord Entertainment Center and pronounced soh-MAY') is an all-purpose venue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee which was completed in 1996.
Ownership and usage
Sommet Center is owned by the Sports Authority of Nashville and Davidson County and operated by Powers Management Company, a subsidiary of the Nashville Predators National Hockey League franchise, which has been its primary tenant since 1998. In 1997, it was the host venue of the United States Figure Skating Association national championships, and in 2004 hosted the U.S. Gymnastics championships. It was the home of the Nashville Kats franchise of the Arena Football League from 1997 until 2001, and has hosted the team's revival since 2005. The venue has also hosted numerous concerts and religious gatherings, and some major basketball events, including both men's (2001, 2006, 2010) and women's tournaments of the Southeastern Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference. In odd-numbered years, The arena was regularly one of eight sites to host the first and second rounds of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament for the first ten years of its existence, though it has been taken out of the rotation through at least 2011, partly due to its octagonal mid-1990s-style scoreboard, which is obsolete by today's standards (it is scheduled to be replaced by a new $5 million scoreboard and digital control room in summer 2007).
Seating capacity
Sommet Center has a seating capacity of 17,113 for ice hockey, approximately 20,000 for basketball, 10,000 for half-house concerts, 18,500 for end-stage concerts and 20,000 for center-stage concerts, depending on the configuration used. It has also hosted several professional wrestling events since its opening.
The seating configuration is notable for the oddly-shaped south end, which features two large round roof support columns, no mid-level seating, and only one level of suites, bringing the upper level seats much closer to the floor.
The arena can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater, used for theater concerts and Broadway and family shows, by placing a stage at the north end of the arena floor and hanging a curtain behind the stage and another to conceal the upper deck. The arena also features 43,000 square feet of space in a trade show layout.
Naming rights
The arena's original name when opened in 1996 was Nashville Arena. In 1999, the arena was renamed Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) after a 20 year, US$80 million naming rights contract was signed between the Predators and Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Company.
In February 2005, it was announced that the Predators and Gaylord had reached an agreement terminating any further involvement between them, and that the Gaylord name would remain on the building only until a new purchaser could be found for the naming rights. As a result, many in the Nashville media quickly reverted to calling the facility by its original name, the Nashville Arena. With the beginning of the 2006 season, the Predators began referring to the arena by its original name as well. In doing so, the team replaced the "Gaylord Entertainment Center" wordmark on the center ice circle with the original "Nashville Predators" wordmark from the inaugural season. The "Gaylord Entertainment Center" name, however, was still displayed on the building's exterior signage at this point.
On March 16, 2007 the facility was officially renamed the Nashville Arena again and all Gaylord signage was removed from the building's exterior.
On May 18, 2007, Sommet Group, a Franklin, Tennessee-based collection of companies whose services include human resources administration, payroll processing, insurance and risk management bought the naming rights to the arena, and it became known as Sommet Center. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company had previously been the corporate title sponsor for the Predators during the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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