Omni Hotels & Resorts has reached an agreement with the city of Nashville to build a downtown hotel.  The Omni Nashville Hotel will be adjacent to the 1.2 million-square-foot Music City Convention Center, which is scheduled to be complete in 2013. The hotel is expected to open later the same year.  The Omni Nashville will have about 800 guestrooms and suites; more than 80,000 square feet of meeting and event space; several restaurants, bars and lounges; retail space; a pool, a fitness center; and a Mokara spa.   The hotel will also be just steps from the new Country Music Hall of Fame.  Click here for more…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nashville government officials announced that Omni Hotels will build a $250 million, 800-room hotel next to the city’s new convention center downtown.  Mayor Karl Dean said Tuesday that the hotel will be built in two parking lots behind the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The buildings’ will be connected. He called it a “game changer” for the city.  ”With little risk to the taxpayers of Davidson County, we are partnering on a project, “said Mayor Dean.

• Omni will get a $103 million enhancement grant that Metro will pay it over 20 years after the hotel opens. Tourism tax dollars will pay for that.
• Omni will also get back$ 25 million dollars in tourism taxes for the cost of the land for the hotel project.

The city could be on the hook though for a million dollars if the deal falls through.  Mayor Dean stands behind the deal, believing a new hotel for the new convention center is exactly what Nashville needs. “But we know from the experiences of other cities, and from expert research that an adjacent headquarters hotel takes the convention center project from a home run, to a championship win in terms Of attendance, and the number of events it expects to host each year, ” said Dean.   Click here for full article….