With tourism growing, Nashville looks to bonds for a boost

By: Robert Slavin

Excerpt from the article:

(September 10, 2026) Music City Center is a downtown convention center consisting of 1.2 million square feet of usable space. It has 350,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, two ballrooms, 60 meeting rooms and 1,800 covered parking spaces. Details about the expansion were unavailable.

Trading this type of bond is "always somewhat volatile," said John Mousseau, executive vice-president and chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, since repayment relies "on tax pledges, like hotel occupancy taxes, rental car taxes or parts of local sales taxes.
 

"This class of bonds almost always trades on the cheap side unless there is an additional ad valorem pledge by the city or county issuing the bonds and/or getting bond insurance," he said.
 

In addition to "a large boom in tourism that goes back to before COVID," Mousseau said, "people have made Nashville more than a destination with many people buying second homes there." 
 

Hosting the Country Music Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Opry, the National Football League's Titans, the National Hockey League's Predators, Major League Soccer's Nashville SC, and a good restaurant scene, Mousseau said, "The convention center has some natural advantages built in that some other cities don't have."

Click here to read the full article on the Bond Buyer website. 

John R. Mousseau, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
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