One thing Nashville isn’t lacking: professional sports. One thing Nashville is lacking: professional women’s sports. 🏀

In the midst of all the excitement about football, hockey, baseball + soccer, it’s often easy to forget that women are underrepresented in Music City’s professional sports realm. What would Nashville be like + who would it attract if female-led teams shared the spotlight?

That’s one question Nashville’s Women’s Professional Sports Initiative is hoping to answer. The group, created by Metro Sports Authority, the Nashville Sports Council + city leaders, formed to study the viability of attracting major women’s teams to the city.

Currently, WPSI is seeking a consultant’s opinion on bringing the first professional women’s team to Nashville.

Since its creation in 2020, WPSI’s work has attracted the attention of the Women’s National Basketball Association, National Women’s Soccer League, National Women’s Hockey League, National Pro Fastpitch Softball League + various leaders in the sports industry.

What could this mean for Nashville?

The Nashville Sports Council has seen an economic impact of $900+ million through major sporting events over the last 25 years. Imagine if more professional teams + events were thrown into the mix.

While women’s sports bring in a historically lower amount than men’s, major events like the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup match in Birmingham, AL that brought in $10 million + the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, SC that brings in an estimated $30 million annually provide cities a substantial economic boost.

What would Nashville look like with professional women’s teams? We’re excited for the possibility of finding out. ⚽

#MUSTDO

Show

Nashville Comedy Festival | Thurs., June 10-16 | Zanies Comedy Club + Ryman Auditorium | Times vary | $10+ | David Spade, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Leanne Morgan headline. 🎤
Tri-Star Elite Charity Concert Series | Thurs., June 10 | 6:30-10 p.m. | Nashville Palace, 2611 McGavock Pk. | $40+ | Hosted by Chris Kirkpatrick of NSYNC, the event includes performances by Dusty Black, Saving Abel’s Jared Weeks + more.
Steven Gilbert | Thurs., June 10 | 7 p.m. | Mockingbird Theater, 230 Franklin Rd. | $10 | Enjoy an acoustic show put on by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Steven Gilbert.

Network

Podcast Movement Meetup | Thurs., June 10 | 7-9 p.m. | Von Elrod's Beer Hall & Kitchen, 1004 4th Ave. N. | Free | Network with fellow podcasters. 🎙️

Art

Parthenon Create! Sketching the Marbles | Thurs., June 10 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. | The Parthenon, 2500 West End Ave. | Cost of admission | A rare opportunity to draw from casts of the Parthenon Marbles.

TryThis

Authentic Storytelling | Thurs., June 10 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Authentic Coffee Co., 1650 U.S. 31W, Goodlettsville | Free | Share stories about your hero at this monthly storytelling series with rotating themes.
Hip Hop Karaoke | Thurs., June 10 | 8 p.m. | Bastion Nashville, 434 Houston St. Ste. 110 | Cost of purchase | Hip Hop Karaoke is vaxxed + back and invites you to come have fun, enjoy food, and sip on drinks. 🎤

SEE MORE OF THIS WEEK'S EVENTS

📸 @NASHtoday

WeGo Transit and the Nashville Civic Design Center's Design Your Neighborhood program invited local middle school students to submit artwork with themes of equality, landmarks, and local treasures to be featured around their communities. 🎨

The first phase of the project showcases artwork from Rosa Parks and Croft Middle Schools + are being displayed during June on select WeGo buses and at 7 WeGo benches. 🚌

#DYK that your photos and quotes could be featured in our newsletter?

Just use #NASHtoday on social media.

NEWS NOTES

Weather

84º | Thunderstorms | 62% chance of rain

Development

Construction for the Moore Building began this week. According to deeds filed, U.S. Bank loaned $79.13 million to the project, with a total project estimate of $121 million. The 15-story, 240,000 sqft building should be finished early in 2023. Check out the renderings. 🚧 (Nashville Business Journal)

Tech

Cofounders of Rachel + Winfree Consulting have created a Nashville chapter of the Blacks In Technology Foundation. The chapter is free to join with free or discounted training programs. Blacks In Technology currently has 13,000 members in 7 countries. 💻 (Nashville Business Journal)

Health

A new pet therapy program launched at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford last week with Magnolia Grace — a sweet 3-year-old poodle — aka Maggie. Maggie spent a year going through training + preparing for community service. See Maggie in action. 🐶 (WGNS)
Monogram Health — a Nashville-based tech-enabled kidney disease management company — has closed a $160 million funding round. Monogram offers a variety of services for members with chronic kidney + end-stage renal diseases and plans to use the capital to further expand across the United States. 🩺 (Fierce Health Care)

Edu

The Metro Nashville Board of Education has updated the mask policies for summer school meaning that when staff + students are outdoors or socially distanced indoors, masks are not required. The Promising Scholars program ends July 2, after which the district will monitor data to make decisions for fall. 🎒 (WTVF)

Cause

End Slavery Tennessee — a local nonprofit that provide specialized case management + comprehensive care to human trafficking survivors and their families — is 1 of 11 Nashville-area charities to receive a grant of $250,000 from the Jackson National Life Insurance Company. (WTVF)

Number

24%. The number of Nashville-area home sales in May 2021 versus May 2020 rose 24%, from 3,267 to 4,063 according to Greater Nashville Realtors data. At the end of May this year, the median price for a single-family home was $400,000, up from $329,900 last may.

ForKids

Tennessee State Museum’s Children's Gallery is reopening this Saturday, June 12 with new hours. You can visit Tues.-Sat. from 10a.m.-1p.m. and 2-4p.m. and on Sundays from 1-4 p.m. The Children’s Gallery has a giant floor map of our state, lots of craft activities, and more. 🖼

List

Nashville made U.S. News’ list of Best Weekend Getaways in the South. The list was made by considering factors like accessibility, affordability, entertainment options, and reader votes. If you want Nashville to make next year's list, give it a thumbs up here. 🗺 (U.S. News)

Job

Looking to escape boring traditional media sales? 6AM City is hiring a Sales Representative to identify + secure new advertising partnerships and grow existing client relationships through innovative advertising solutions. This position will be remote (read: work from anywhere). See details + apply.