Bridgestone Arena Game Day Guide
Nashville Predators · Nashville, TN
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Backpacks are prohibited, but other bags up to 12 x 12 x 6 inches are permitted after the required screening.
Bags larger than 6 x 4 x 1.5 inches receive X-ray and visual screening; smaller bags use express visual-inspection lanes, and medical or diaper bags receive X-ray screening.
- Bag storage
Bridgestone Arena does not provide on-site storage for prohibited bags or other rejected items.
Guests carrying a prohibited item are denied entry and should plan another place to leave it before arriving.
- Gate opening
Doors open 90 minutes before Nashville Predators games.
- Mobile tickets
Predators home games use mobile-only entry through the Predators app or a smartphone web browser.
Add tickets to the device wallet before arrival; wallet tickets use contactless entry and do not display a barcode.
- Re-entry
Re-entry is generally prohibited; guests who must leave for a service-animal need or personal emergency must arrange a scan-out with main-entrance event staff before exiting.
- Prohibited items
Prohibited items include backpacks, bottles and cans, coolers, chairs, drones, fireworks, outside food and alcohol, projectiles, gifts, recording equipment, grills and heaters, wheeled devices, inflatables, laptops and tablets, lasers, luggage, poles and sticks, tents, radios, noisemakers, weapons, and defensive sprays.
Arena security may confiscate contraband and eject guests carrying it.
- First aid
Vanderbilt First Aid centers are on the main concourse near Section 111 and upper concourse near Section 311.
Trained medical personnel staff every ticketed arena event.
- Nursing and lactation
The Mother's Lounge is on the Club Level near Section 213 and is unlocked for every game and event.
The room has nursing chairs and changing tables.
- Family restrooms
Family restrooms are outside Sections 104, 110, 111, 117, 312, and 322.
Every public restroom has a baby-changing table, and the family restrooms also contain sharps containers.
- Tickets for children
Children younger than 2 may enter without a ticket when sitting on a ticket holder's lap.
Children age 2 and older need tickets.
- Guest services
Guest Services Centers are near Sections 103 and 331.
During an event, text the issue and location to 615-502-4848 for staff assistance.
- Service animals
ADA-qualified service dogs are permitted and must remain under the handler's control and generally leashed or harnessed.
Guests needing seating help for a service dog should contact the arena before the event to confirm a location or relocation.
- Smoking and vaping
Smoking, vaping, and e-cigarette use are prohibited throughout Bridgestone Arena property.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Bridgestone Arena, hour by hour.
Broadway pregame
Start on Lower Broadway, the honky-tonks are live with country music and cold beer. Tootsie's, Robert's Western World, and The Stage are ground zero.
Pregame dinner
Grab Nashville hot chicken at Hattie B's or Prince's, or hit a Broadway honky-tonk for burgers and beer. Food is everywhere.
Doors open
Enter Bridgestone Arena and watch warm-ups. The arena fills early, Preds fans want to be there for the opening chants.
Smashville comes alive
The crowd starts the chants early. Learn the fang fingers (🤘) and the goal celebration. The energy is unlike any other arena.
Game time
Three 20-minute periods. Bridgestone Arena is one of the loudest buildings in the NHL. The chants after opposing goals are legendary.
Hit the concourse
Grab Nashville hot chicken tenders or a Jack & Coke (it's Nashville, Tennessee whiskey is mandatory). The concourse is lively.
Back to Broadway
The honky-tonks stay open until 3 AM. Win or lose, the party continues on Lower Broadway. Nashville doesn't stop.
Tips & Fan Reports
Learn the Predators chants. After every opposing goal, the crowd chants a sequence directed at the other goalie. It's hilarious and theatrical.
The 'catfish toss' is a Nashville tradition (mimicking Detroit's octopus). You'll see it at big games.
Nashville is a tourist city. Many arena-area restaurants accept walk-ins even on game nights, but book ahead for Broadway favorites.
The catfish throw is a Predators tradition (modeled after Detroit's octopus). You'll likely see one hit the ice.
Lower Broadway honky-tonks are steps from Bridgestone Arena. Nashville's pregame scene is unmatched in the NHL.
Broadway honky-tonks have no cover charge. Walk in, grab a drink, listen to live country music. Free entertainment.
Doors open 90 minutes before a Predators game, and Lower Broadway is immediately outside them.
The Pinnacle Garage is attached to the building, so it is the option that keeps you out of the Broadway crowds.
No backpacks of any size, and the arena would rather you brought nothing at all.
Guest drop-off is the eastbound curb of Broadway between 6th and 5th, not at a door.
Before the Game
Bridgestone Arena opens its doors 90 minutes before a Predators game, straight onto Lower Broadway. The arena has no lots and publishes no tailgating policy, and the honky-tonks are the pregame. Backpacks of any size are prohibited and the arena strongly discourages bringing a bag at all, with exceptions only for medical needs and diaper bags. Parking is a choice of nearby garages: the Pinnacle Garage attached to the arena at 6th Avenue South and Demonbreun, another directly across the street at 6th Avenue South and Broadway, the 5th Ave of the Arts Garage at 5th and Church, and the MCC garage inside Music City Center off 6th Avenue.
Where to Go Before the Game
The Pinnacle Garage, 6th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street
Attached directly to the arena on the corner of 6th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street, the closest option and the one that needs no street crossing.
Known for Attached to the arena · 6th Ave S and Demonbreun
The garage at 6th Avenue South and Broadway
Directly across the street from the arena on the corner of 6th Avenue South and Broadway, putting you on Lower Broadway as you leave the car.
Known for Across the street · On Broadway
5th Ave of the Arts Garage and the MCC garage
Two more options a short walk out: the 5th Ave of the Arts Garage at 5th Avenue and Church, and the MCC garage within Music City Center off 6th Avenue.
Known for 5th and Church · Inside Music City Center
The Broadway drop-off and the Nissan entrances
Guest drop-off is the eastbound curb lane of Broadway between 6th and 5th Avenues. The Nissan Main Entrance is at 5th Avenue and Broadway and the Nissan SoBro Entrance at 5th Avenue and Demonbreun.
Known for Drop-off on Broadway · Main entrance at 5th and Broadway · SoBro at 5th and Demonbreun
Pregame Rules
What Bridgestone Arena allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Backpacks of any size are prohibited. Guests are strongly discouraged from bringing bags at all and urged to arrive early and travel light.
- Exceptions to the bag policy may be made for extenuating circumstances such as medical needs and diaper bags.
- Doors open 90 minutes prior to the start of Nashville Predators games.
- Guest drop-off is at the eastbound curb lane of Broadway between 6th and 5th Avenues.
- The Pinnacle Garage is attached to the arena at the corner of 6th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street. Other options include a garage across the street at 6th Avenue South and Broadway, the 5th Ave of the Arts Garage at 5th Avenue and Church, and the MCC garage within Music City Center off 6th Avenue.
- Accessible entrances are at the Nissan Main Entrance at 5th Avenue and Broadway, the Nissan SoBro Entrance at 5th Avenue and Demonbreun, and all five entry points in the 6th Avenue Parking Garage.
Weather
Bridgestone Arena is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the NHL season the warmest month is October, with an average high of 73°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 28°F. March is the wettest month at 5.4 inches and October the driest at 3.8 inches.
That January low ranks 19th coldest of the 32 NHL venues, and March here ranks 4th wettest.
October
3.8 inchesNovember
3.8 inchesJanuary
4.7 inchesMarch
5.4 inchesApril
4.8 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and drinks are prohibited, but an empty clear plastic water bottle up to 32 ounces is permitted.
- A card or a phone wallet
Bridgestone Arena is cashless and accepts mobile payments plus Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
- A coat for the walk in
January lows average 28°F between the lot and the door at Bridgestone Arena.
- A rain layer for the walk in
March averages 5.4 inches of rain outside Bridgestone Arena.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: Doors open 90 minutes before Nashville Predators games.
- Pregame
Bridgestone Arena official site: Directions & Parking, Arena Policies, Bag Policy, and A to Z Guide
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Bridgestone Arena and Nashville Predators accessibility, arena-guide, ticketing, parking, and box-office pages reviewed for Predators policies.