The MPEC

THE MPEC A fter twenty years of discussion, Clarksville’s

Multi Purpose Event Center is finally getting close to its long-awaited groundbreaking, thanks to the tireless effort of Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, and countless others. BY TONY CENTONZE

The project’s main players were gathered in Clarksville on Friday, February 21, 2020, and things seem to be moving right along.

Local officials have stated they are optimistic that the final price could be lower than the $130.7 million that is being allocated. Construction will take about 2 ½ years, with a possible groundbreaking taking place as early as April or May.

A plot of land purchased for the project in 2019 lies between 1st and 2nd Streets, College and Main Streets. Funding for that purchase was approved in May of 2019. Mayor Durrett still feels that the various revenue streams will be sufficient to fund the project, and there will be no need to raise the county tax rate. A projected economic impact estimated at $20 million would come primarily from direct consumer spending. people, depending on the type of event, and Mayor Durrett seems pleased with the progress so far, as the still-evolving plan is about 1/3 of the way complete, and site preparation is about to begin.

The facility will contain three levels with three entryways. The main arena will be used for sporting events, concerts and other activities. The second level will have concessions and other convenience areas, as well as a practice court for APSU Basketball. The third level will have suites, meeting and gathering spaces, lounges, and office space.

The Architecture Firm of Rufus Johnson & Associates was selected in November, 2018 for the MPEC project, about the same time as Commonwealth Development was named project manager and Skanska USA was named construction manager.

“We are working in conjunction with Convergys Design Group out of Kansas City, MO,” Rudy Johnson said. “This is the biggest project we’ve ever done, in terms of dollars. It is similar in size to the Sundquist Building we did at APSU in 1995, at about 250,000 sf. The all-inclusive cost of this project should come in just under $131 million, that’s land, building costs, permitting, and all other associated costs. Construction cost alone is about $92 million.”

2ND QUARTER 2020 •25 Johnson says APSU’s Men’s and Women’s Basketball programs will have everything they need. “They will have a practice facility,

all the offices, training rooms, etc. Powers Management Group will be managing the facility. They will bring concerts, trade shows, and much more. This will be like a mini Bridgestone Arena, if you will. We will be able to book acts similar to those coming to Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.”

There will be two sheets of ice for hockey, so youth and adult hockey leagues are a possibility. The facility’s main floor will be a huge, convertible space.

“We can accommodate things like Disney on Ice, trade shows, basketball tournaments, hockey league tournaments. The main arena floor will be large enough that you could have four basketball games going on simultaneously.”

“Seating will be about 5,500, and as an aside, about 84% of concerts booked in America are booked in facilities with 6,000 seats or less. The Eric Church’s and Taylor Swift’s that are able to fill Bridgestone Arena are the exception, not the rule.”

Johnson praised his design partner on this project, saying Convergys Design Group has done a lot of arenas around the country, many of which have included an ice component, which takes a special type of expertise.

“I’ve never been in a more collaborative, congenial working arrangement on any project,” Johnson said. “Montgomery County, Skanska USA, Commonwealth Development, all have been great. Everybody’s been pulling on the same rope. There has not been a word of conflict among us. It has been a wonderful experience.” The time-line has allowed for sure and steady progress on this project. “Everybody has done their due diligence on this,” Johnson said. “We’ve had time to make sure everything worked, think things through, and work out all the details. All the contributors have been able to offer some great solutions along the way. It has been great working with this team, all with a common goal, to get as much facility as possible with the money we have.” Johnson says MPEC will be huge for Clarksville and Montgomery County. “It’s a game changer. We will be able to have events here we’ve never had before, another level of sports and entertainment, all bringing people to town who will spend money on restaurants and hotels. It’s an economic engine unto itself.” potential revenue, but I’ve heard estimates of 200 to 250 events a year. That’s a lot of nights with something happening right in the center of our town. The ripple effect goes on and on. I heard talk when Nashville’s convention center was being built, that it would never pay for itself. But, that’s misleading, because people come to an event, then spend money at the Omni Hotel or Tootsie’s, You can’t exactly trace the money, but the ripple goes on and on. That revenue being generated is money that you would not have had otherwise.” Johnson suggests that Nashville’s explosion started with Phil Bredesen’s vision of building the Bridgestone Arena, and then LP Field. “Look at how those projects have benefited that entire community,” Johnson said. “After church on Sunday, I was eating with my family at Strawberry Alley Ale Works. We were talking about how busy it was. I thought, it’s going to be like this most all the time once MPEC gets open.” “I’m in deep admiration of Mayor Durrett and his vision. He realized that this is something our community has sorely needed. In bringing it to fruition he had to use a lot of his political capital, but he has shown great leadership. This has been attempted twice before, so it seems like the third time is a charm.” “I’m in deep admiration of Mayor Durrett and his vision. He realized that this is something our community has sorely needed. In bringing it to fruition he had to use a lot of his political capital, but he has shown great leadership.”