from Clarksville now CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Montgomery County leaders are planning to continue discussions with the Nashville Predators and Austin Peay State University in the planning for a multi-purpose event center (MPEC) in the heart of downtown Clarksville. Wednesday, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, Montgomery County Chief of Staff Jeff Truitt and Austin Peay State University Athletic Director Ryan Ivey talked about a MPEC. Durrett says his office began working with consultants more than 18 months ago in efforts to uncover options for growth in the area as well as having preliminary conversations with community stakeholders. “Our goal was to research ideas for building the best future for Montgomery County,” said Durrett. He went on to say options have been discussed for years, so we engaged professionals to explore and develop various options that would be appropriate for, and beneficial to our community, for review and consideration. In working with global consulting organization HVS, Durrett said several of the same themes came to light time and time again. Montgomery County has many benefits that make it appealing to business and newcomers, but the two things lacking are a true destination point and family centered events. Findings initially pointed to the establishment of a sports and entertainment complex in downtown Clarksville to fulfill the chasm, with feasibility studies showing it to be the most lucrative way to revitalize downtown. It would also form deeper connections with the college community, provide a wide assortment of family activities, recruit tourists, and increase interest in Clarksville and areas surrounding Montgomery County. Projections from HVS are that in a stabilized year, there is a potential for 307 events at the MPEC which would generate $20.1 million per year in economic impact for Montgomery County. The fiscal impact would be $461,600 along with the creation of 200 jobs. HVS looked at three sites for the proposed facility. Near Exit 4 and Exit 11 of I-24 and downtown Clarksville. They have recommended that the MPEC be located on the Riverview Inn, bordered by Main St., Spring St., College St., and 2nd St. The initial HVS phase one process identified that Montgomery County would support a Multi-Purpose Event Center that would feature: – A main arena with 25,000 square feet of regulation hockey surface with the ability to convert to hardwood for basketball games, flat floor space for trade shows, stage set up for concerts and dirt. – One or two additional rinks of 22,500 square feet, seating approximately 500 people and convertible to turf. – Seating for up to 6,000 people in the arena. – 15-20 executive suites – Four club rooms totaling 6,000 square feet for special events such as parties and weddings. – Four meeting spaces totaling 4,000 square feet for conferences, seminars and classes.

Durrett also said the statistics, feasibility studies and other research we’ve seen have caused other potential partners to take notice and desire to be involved. These other organizations include potential commitments from the Nashville Predators and Austin Peay. The Predators, who are in early discussions to manage the facility, have mentioned options such as hosting youth camps and tournaments at the MPEC and offering community-based recreation hockey leagues, and APSU could potentially hold the Governors men’s and women’s basketball games at the facility, bringing Division 1 athletics to the center. While Durrett and his team are excited about the possibility of the MPEC and the revenue it could bring to our community, he cautions that the idea of a multi-purpose events center is still very much in the early planning stages. “Now we are at a stage where we need to allow more intensive site and facility investigation as well as allow more due diligence on what the relationships and legal structure would look like. Really it’s simple, as local leaders, we feel we owe it to this process to move forward in investigating the possibility of a multi-purpose event center in downtown,” Durrett said.