Bridgestone Arena Murals

In a region known for county music and football, hockey has become one of the hottest tickets in town. Nashvillians first fell in love with hockey in 1998 when the Predators played their first game. They’ve been a fixture ever since and have also become one of the NHL's best teams with their first playoff appearance in 2004. The Preds remain one of the most impressive playoff contenders, and games—here at Bridgestone Arena—sell out long before the puck hits the ice. 

​​These sell-out crowds are loud and proud. They’ve also created some interesting traditions such as throwing catfish onto the ice, singing a Tim McGraw song after a Predators’ goal, and chanting “hey, you suck!” and “it’s all your fault” at the opponent’s goalie. Fans are so intense with their coordinated insults that they nearly broke the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd at an indoor sporting event in 2017, according to the Tennessean. In that same year, the Preds reached their first Stanley Cup finals, and ESPN named them the number one fan franchise in professional sports. 

​​So it’s unsurprising that a fan, named Frank Glinski, came up with the term “Smashville” in 2002. This double entendre was intended to describe both the musical smash hits coming out of Nashville as well as the smash collisions that occur on the ice. After the Nashville flood in 2010, the nickname was expanded to “I Believe in Smashville.” This mural—created in collaboration with 615 Industries—pays tribute to our city, its residents, and our hockey team.

Walk east a few yards down Demonbreun toward Public Square Park to the Gnash mural on the east side of Bridgestone Arena. The mural is at the bottom of the stairs on the corner of Bridgestone. Press pause on the narration and resume once you reach the Gnash mural.

This mural shows off the Predators’ mascot, Gnash. Gnash is a sabre tooth tiger, which is actually not a tiger but a cat. The mascot’s inspiration is straight out of the history books. In Nashville in 1971, construction workers discovered a partial Smilodon skeleton, which is an extinct, predatory large cat. An article in the Tennessean recounted the story: “While clearing a downtown plot at Fourth Avenue and Union, a workman operating a backhoe unexpectedly hit a crevice in the otherwise solid rock. . . . Then came the bigger shock. . . . Exposed in the newly disturbed brown dust lay a nine-inch long, ivory-colored fang. The dagger-like canine of what would later be identified as Tennessee's first-known saber-toothed cat.”

When the hockey team’s name was chosen, the franchise asked fans to vote. With other nominations such as “Ice Tigers," “Fury,” and “Attack,” the fans chose the name “Predators” in 1997, and the iconic team was born. Gnash has become the beloved face of the Preds, and can be seen dancing at games, popping up at events around town, and even propelling from the ceiling of Bridgestone from time to time. To celebrate their mascot, the players skate out of the jaws of a massive sabre tooth tiger to start each game.

As you walk from Bridgestone to the next stop at Hatch Show Print, look across the street at the Music City Center. The spectacular architecture is a work of art in and of itself, but did you know the Music City Center doubles as an art gallery? The project reserved two million dollars to purchase over one hundred pieces of public art representing fifty-two artists—most of whom are from Middle Tennessee. The collection includes a broad spectrum of artistic media such as paintings, suspended pieces, mosaics, and light works. The free, interactive Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gallery is also on the first floor. While we won’t go inside the Music City Center on this tour, we encourage you to explore it on your own. Complimentary tours of Music City Center are offered twice a week and last approximately an hour. 

Walk to the corner of Demonbruen and Fifth Avenue South, cross the street turning RIGHT on Fifth Avenue South. Enter Hatch Show Print on your left at 224 Fifth Avenue South.