Preds, Austin Peay, Clarksville See Bright Future in Montgomery County

The site of a future structure on groundbreaking day is often unremarkable. There's dirt - lots of it - some shovels too - albeit outfitted with hockey stick shafts as opposed to the traditional material - and perhaps some heavy machinery, which Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett modeled impressively following Thursday's press conference.
But the Nashville Predators have been part of enough groundbreakings in recent memory to know that the massive pile of soil, mud and muck behind the stage will soon be yet another facility that will house two sheets of ice, and a whole lot more.
That's the promise that comes with a day like this, and for the people of Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee, the vision is quickly becoming reality.

Representatives from the Preds and Montgomery County were on hand under a sunny sky Thursday afternoon
to break ground on the Montgomery County Multi-Purpose Event Center in downtown Clarksville
.
Predators Vice President and General Manager of Ford Ice Centers Danny Butler, Durrett, Austin Peay State University Athletic Director Gerald Harrison, and City of Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts spoke to those in attendance - mostly clad in Gold - to celebrate what's to come.
"If anyone remembers when Bridgestone Arena first opened on the corner of Fifth and Broadway, there was not a lot going on down on Lower Broadway," Butler said. "If you look at it now, you can see that on a global scale, Lower Broadway has changed and around Bridgestone Arena has changed. If you look at the economic impact by both Bridgestone Arena and the Ford Ice Centers have made, it changes the landscape of Middle Tennessee. That is what can happen here."
"This day is not about a building," Pitts said. "It's about vision, and it's about transformation. Mayor Durrett cast a vision…and he said, 'Follow me, and we'll get this done.' He sought out consensus in the community, he gave the community a rallying point and he provided textbook leadership. And now we stand here today prepared to break ground on a beautiful building, but it's also about transformation. We're not just transforming this city block, we're transforming our community from, 'We can,' to, 'We will.'"

The 250,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2022. In October, the Predators signed a contract to manage the facility, leaving the organization responsible for its overall day-to-day operations. Additionally, the Preds will be charged with booking the facility and finding all the appropriate sponsors and partners to bring the venue to life and make it flourish.
The Multi-Purpose Event Center's primary tenant will be Austin Peay State University, whose men's and women's basketball teams will call the facility home. In addition to the facility's main, flexible event space - which will be able to host sporting events, concerts, banquets, conventions, trade shows and other events - the multi-level venue will feature a separate sheet of ice that will be used for youth and adult hockey leagues and figure skating.
The main arena bowl will also be able to add an ice surface, giving it the ability to host hockey tournaments and attract larger on-ice events or competitions much like the existing Ford Ice Centers in Antioch and Bellevue. Using these ice sheets, the Predators will offer a variety of learn-to-skate programs at the facility, continuing their mission to expose and grow hockey to more Middle Tennessee residents.

That's exactly what the Preds have done over the past six years at Ford Ice Center in Antioch, and they do it at Ford Ice Center Bellevue now too. As far as the organization is concerned, the more ice in Tennessee and beyond, the better, and there's more on the way once again.
"Back in 2016, [Predators President and CEO] Sean [Henry] was in our conference room in the courthouse…and we talked about our vision, and we talked about this facility," Durrett said. "And I'll never forget what Sean said. He said, 'You know what, I'll come to Clarksville, Montgomery County and freeze water, or I'll come down here and manage the facility 100 percent or anywhere in between.' And so, we stand here today with Austin Peay as a 30-year candidate, and the Nashville Predators managing this facility."
Indeed, those representatives in Clarksville and Montgomery County have taken note of what the Preds have done in Nashville, and they realized they wanted that same leadership in their own city.
"You heard what Danny Butler said up there and what they've done with their ice centers," Durrett said. "The amount of people that have come through it [more than 6 million in Antioch and Bellevue combined] and we've never had anything like this… We hear all the time that we've got to go to Nashville, or we've got to go to Paducah [Kentucky] to get quality entertainment, and that's going to be right here in [our] backyard."

The facility will contain luxury suites, premium seating, private hospitality space, party rooms and common areas that will have full access to the arena bowl. The Austin Peay men's and women's basketball teams will move their coaches' offices and training facilities into the facility, which will also house their practice court.
The Multi-Purpose Event Center will hold roughly 6,000 fans for concerts; 5,500 for basketball games; and 5,000 for hockey games. Fans can follow the progress and stay up-to-date on everything relating to the Montgomery County Multi-Purpose Event Center by following @MoCoMPEC on both Twitter and Instagram.
And, of course, the game of hockey will continue to grow in the state of Tennessee in ways many never dreamed possible. When Ford Ice Center opened in Antioch opened back in 2014, and then two more sheets of ice came to Bellevue last year, there was talk it would only be a matter of time until a young hockey player, born and raised in Nashville through Predators in-house programming, would make it to the NHL.
Now, add Clarksville to the list of possible hometowns. That would be remarkable.
"We're just going to keep growing the numbers, and what we've seen since we've been open in Nashville is 35 percent growth year over year of just kids playing hockey," Butler said. "That'll just expand with [the community here in Clarksville]. We're going to be able to grow a lot of things. Youth hockey is going to start from almost nothing, we're going to be able to start a high-school hockey program and also our figure skating program and programs with the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy. We'll be able to grow that, and then hopefully we get that player 16, 17, 18 years from now who gets drafted to the NHL."