Bridgestone Arena Game Day Guide
Nashville Predators · Nashville, TN
Know Before You Go
Essential details checked against official venue information.
- Bag policy
Backpacks are prohibited, but other bags up to 12 x 12 x 6 inches are permitted after the required screening.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- Mobile tickets
Predators home games use mobile-only entry through the Predators app or a smartphone web browser.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- The room has nursing chairs and changing tables.
- Family restrooms
Family restrooms are outside Sections 104, 110, 111, 117, 312, and 322.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- Children age 2 and older need tickets.
- Guest services
Guest Services Centers are near Sections 103 and 331.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
- 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.
Applies to: Nashville Predators games
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.
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 inchesNashville Predators Clear Bag Policy
Most venues require a clear bag. Get an approved one before you travel.
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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.
- 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.