The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will be expanded and connected to a new hotel that's being built as part of a new
convention center in downtown Nashville. The Convention Center Authority of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County gave
its approval Friday (Dec. 17) to a development plan authorizing Omni Hotels & Resorts to execute the expansion of museum
into the headquarters hotel for the Music City Center. Omni is building a $250 million, 800-room hotel at the corner of Fifth
Avenue and Korean Veterans Boulevard. Omni has been named as the developer to build the shell for the museum expansion as
part of the overall hotel construction. The museum is responsible for all costs associated with finishing its expansion space.
The two buildings will be fully connected. As part of the public/private partnership, the Convention Center Authority will
own the expanded portion of the Hall of Fame, which will have a 60-year lease on the property and make an annual lease payment
that averages $500,000 over the term for a total of $30 million. The museum will have the right to buy the expansion area
upon expiration of the lease. The Music City Center, now being constructed on a 19-acre site, is scheduled to open in 2013.
