Three largest convention center contracts go to out-of-state firms

With nearly half of all work procured for construction of the new $585 million Music City Center, 74 percent of dollars are to be spent locally in Nashville, according to a news release issued by the Convention Center Authority.

Still, the three largest contracts have gone to outside companies: $50.2 million has been awarded to Nash Inc./W.R. Nash, an Orlando, Fla.-based plumbing company; $42.6 million has gone to Ceco, a structural concrete company in St. Louis; and $39.5 million has been doled out to Indianapolis-based Lenex Steel Company.

Upon approving Nashville’s new convention center, scheduled to open in Feburary 2013, several Metro council members made clear they want its construction to be “Nashville’s stimulus.”

In all, the authority has awarded $155.1 million in contracts, with more than $115 million of that figure to go back into the local economy through the purchasing of local material, labor and equipment, as outlined in a procurement log [1] created by Ray Bell Construction, the lead construction team for the project.

Council members, as well as Mayor Karl Dean, have also requested that 20 percent of all work related to the convention center go to small businesses or companies owned by women or minorities.

According to the nine-member authority, 28 percent of all contracts are expected to fall under that criterion, which would exceed the request.

“We’re very committed to ensuring minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses get a fair share of the job,” Marty Dickens, who chairs the authority, said in a written statement. “Mayor Dean made local jobs and minority involvement his priorities for the project, and our team works hard on this effort every day.”