Gaylord Entertainment Center

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The Gaylord Entertainment Center (originally named Nashville Arena) is an all-purpose venue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee which was completed in 1996. 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.

The GEC (sometimes informally pronounced "geck") 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. 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 GEC is regularly one of eight sites to host the first and second rounds of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament. It 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 WWF/WWE wrestling events since its opening, though lacking attendance has provoked WWE to move its shows to the much-smaller Nashville Municipal Auditorium as of late.

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, perfect for trade shows.

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 have reverted to calling the facility by its original name, the Nashville Arena.

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