Bridgestone Arena is the building most people picture when they think of Lower Broadway. It sits on the south side of Broadway between 5th and 6th, sharing a wall with Tootsie’s and Robert’s. If you’re going to a Predators game or a concert, your pre-show and post-show plans are happening on Broadway whether you intended that or not.
The honest answer: anywhere on Lower Broadway. The arena’s main entrance dumps out onto 5th Avenue and Broadway, and the bars are everything from there west to 1st. The closer-in spots fill up two hours before a Preds game, so if you want a real seat at a real bar instead of standing in a beer-spilled scrum, walk past the first three blocks and head toward 2nd or 1st.
If you want a quick pre-game beer with a view, the rooftops are the move. Acme Feed & Seed, Jason Aldean’s, and Whiskey Row all have upper decks that look down onto Broadway. The full rooftop guide is here. If you want to skip the bachelorette traffic and grab a quiet drink, the bars just off Broadway (Printers Alley, lower 2nd) are usually 20% less packed on event nights.
Doors open 90 minutes before puck drop. Most people arrive 30-45 minutes before, which means the 60-90 minute window before the game is when Lower Broadway is at its most concentrated chaos. If you want to actually enjoy a drink, get on Broadway 2.5 hours early, grab a table somewhere with food (Acme, Honky Tonk Central, Whiskey Row), and walk to the arena 20 minutes before doors. You’ll skip the worst of the crush.
Broadway after a Predators win is one of the loudest places in America. The bars are still serving until 3am, the bands are mid-set, and 20,000 people just spilled out of the arena into a four-block radius. If you want to keep going, Tootsie’s second floor and Robert’s back room usually have shorter lines than the front rooms. Tonight’s band lineup is here if you want to plan around music instead of just wandering in.
If you’re not staying out, the walk back to most hotels is 5-15 minutes. Ride shares queue at the back of the arena on 6th Avenue, not on Broadway itself. The Broadway-facing curb is closed to pickups during events.
Bridgestone hosts most of Nashville’s arena tours. Country acts come through constantly, and there’s a steady rotation of pop, rock, and comedy. The Predators play roughly 41 home games a year (October through April), and the arena books 60+ concerts and events on top of that. Translation: Broadway is in “event mode” about three nights a week year-round.
If you’re seeing a Bridgestone concert and want to extend the night, walk west on Broadway after the show. The honky-tonks closest to the arena (Tootsie’s, Robert’s, Legends) will be jammed. The rooftops and the bars closer to the river will be busy but workable.
Don’t park at the arena. The Bridgestone garage is overpriced and packed. Park in the Public Square garage at 117 Union Street ($10-15) or one of the lots off 4th Avenue. Or skip parking entirely and Uber/Lyft to a drop-off on 6th Avenue South of Broadway. Full parking breakdown is here.
You want walking distance. Anything in the SoBro, Gulch, or Lower Broadway zones puts you within 10 minutes of the arena entrance. The Omni and Westin SoBro are the closest brand-name hotels — you can be in your room 6 minutes after the final buzzer. Walkable hotel breakdown by event type is here.
Yes. The arena’s main entrance is on 5th Avenue, but the entire south side of the building runs along Broadway between 5th and 6th. You can’t walk down Broadway without walking past it.
If you want a real seat at a bar, 2.5 hours before puck drop. If you just want a quick beer and to enter the arena, an hour before is fine. The 30-60 minute window before doors open is the most crowded.
Not in any organized sense. The bars on Broadway are the tailgate. That’s the whole pre-game model in Nashville — the city built a hockey arena on top of an 1890s honky-tonk strip and the two functions merged.
Walking times based on actual block distance from the landmark entrance. Every bar listed is in our full venue directory with live lineups.
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