Nashville Predators Tickets

Hockey on Lower Broadway

The Nashville Predators play their home games at Bridgestone Arena, at 501 Broadway in downtown Nashville, and the NHL regular season runs from October to April. The arena sits at the foot of the Lower Broadway entertainment strip, across from the Music City Center, so a Predators game is as much a night downtown as a hockey game.

The NHL awarded Nashville a franchise on June 25, 1997, and the team played its first game on October 10, 1998, a 1–0 loss to the Florida Panthers. The name comes from a partial skeleton of a Smilodon, a saber-toothed cat, found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971; the mascot, Gnash, is a saber-toothed cat as well. The Predators compete in the Central Division of the Western Conference.

• Identity. The team's colors are gold, navy blue and white, and Smashville is the long-running nickname for the team and its game-night scene.
• High point. The 2017 run to the Stanley Cup Final, the franchise's first, turned downtown into a playoff block party.
• Division opponents. Central Division games against teams such as the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues are the core of the schedule.

Seating at Bridgestone Arena for hockey

Bridgestone Arena opened on December 18, 1996, and seats 17,159 for hockey. It has a 100-level lower bowl, a 200-level club ring and a 300-level upper bowl. The south end of the building is unusual: it has no mid-level seating and only one level of suites, which pulls the upper-level seats at that end closer to the ice than in most arenas.

• Lower bowl, center ice. The middle rows along the sideline show the whole sheet and the benches. These seats carry the strongest demand.
• The glass. The double-lettered rows at the front of the lower sections put you on the glass. They are thrilling for speed and hits but poor for watching plays develop at the far end. Seats a dozen or more rows up see over the glass.
• Club level. The 200 level comes with premium amenities and a mid-height view that suits fans who want to follow systems and line changes.
• Upper sideline. Upper sections 309 to 312 face the team benches, and their front rows are the value pick for a full-ice view.
• The Cellblock. Section 303 is home to the Cellblock, a group of fans who stand, chant and lead cheers all game. Buy here for the noise, not for a quiet view.

NHL teams switch ends each period, so the home team attacks one net twice. Third-party seating guides disagree on which end the Predators shoot twice at in Nashville, so check the seating chart or ask at the arena rather than paying extra for an end seat on that basis alone.

The schedule and the games that sell first

The NHL preseason runs in late September, the 82-game regular season runs from early October to mid-April, and the playoffs run from April into June. The Predators play 41 regular-season home games, and the arena also books concerts, the CMA Awards and the PBR's Nashville Stampede, so Predators dates fit around a busy calendar.

• Division rivals. Dallas, Chicago and St. Louis bring traveling fans and the most animated home crowds.
• Weekend dates. Friday and Saturday games compete with a full downtown tourist weekend, and visitors on a Nashville trip push demand up.
• Holiday weeks. Games around the late-December break sell faster than midweek games in November.
• Playoffs. Home playoff games draw crowds that fill the plaza outside the arena, and seats inside move quickly.

Buy early for weekend and rivalry dates. A Tuesday or Wednesday game against an Eastern Conference opponent is usually the best value, and listings for those dates often loosen closer to puck drop.

Parking, transit and entry rules

The arena publishes a list of downtown garages for events: the Bridgestone Arena Garage attached at 6th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street, the Fifth + Broadway garage across the street, the Music City Center garage, and others within walking distance. Nissan Stadium's Lot R across the Cumberland River has been offered as a free option with an optional shuttle. Downtown hotels are within walking distance, and WeGo Central, the city's main bus hub, is downtown.

• Bags. As of 2026, backpacks of any size were not allowed, and no bag larger than 12 by 12 by 6 inches was admitted. Bags between about 6 by 4 by 1.5 inches and that limit went through x-ray screening, while smaller bags used express lanes. The arena does not store bags.
• Payments. The arena operates cashless.
• Re-entry. The arena generally does not allow re-entry.

Check the Bridgestone Arena bag policy before your game, since rules change. GoodSeats orders include guaranteed entry and no digital transfer fees.

Catfish, fang fingers and Smashville

Predators fans built their own traditions quickly. The best known is throwing a catfish on the ice, a twist on Detroit's octopus tradition; the Tennessean traces the first instance to October 30, 2003. During power plays, fans raise fang fingers, two curled fingers, while the arena plays the shrieking strings from Psycho. In the 2017 conference finals, country star Keith Urban hoisted a catfish on the big screen.

The pregame scene is downtown itself. Fans fill the bars and restaurants on Lower Broadway before the game and spill back into them after, so plan extra time on busy weekends when tourist crowds and hockey crowds share the sidewalks.

Franchise milestones

• First playoff appearance, 2003–04. The Predators reached the postseason in their sixth season.
• First series win, 2011. Nashville beat the Anaheim Ducks for its first playoff series victory.
• 2016 NHL All-Star Game. Bridgestone Arena hosted the league's All-Star weekend.
• 2017 Stanley Cup Final. The Predators won the Western Conference and lost the Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, with Games 3, 4 and 6 played in Nashville.
• 2017–18. The team won the Presidents' Trophy for the league's best regular-season record and the first of back-to-back Central Division titles.
• Outdoor games. The Predators played the 2020 Winter Classic against Dallas at the Cotton Bowl and hosted the 2022 Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium, losing 3–2 to Tampa Bay.
• No. 35. Goaltender Pekka Rinne's number was retired on February 24, 2022, the first in team history.

Rosters and coaches change every season, so check the team site for the current lineup.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Nashville Predators
• Wikipedia – Bridgestone Arena
• Bridgestone Arena – Bag Policy
• Bridgestone Arena – Directions and Parking
• Bridgestone Arena – A to Z Guide
• RateYourSeats – Bridgestone Arena section 323 (orientation)
• RateYourSeats – Bridgestone Arena section 114 (orientation)
• Wikipedia – National Hockey League