Nashville Predators Tickets

Predators seating, decided in a minute

For a Nashville Predators game, the best all-around seat is in the middle rows of a lower-bowl sideline section, where you see the whole sheet and both benches. For value, buy the front rows of upper sections 309 to 312, which face the benches. Bridgestone Arena seats 17,159 for hockey.

• Closest upper-level seats: the south end, where the building has no middle tier.
• Most noise: section 303, home of the Cellblock.
• Comfort with a mid-height view: the 200-level club ring.
• Experience over view: the double-lettered glass rows.

The regular season runs from October to April, on Lower Broadway.

100s, the club ring, the 300s and the south-end quirk

Lower bowl (100 level)

The front of each lower section uses double letters, AA through MM in section 114 per one guide, before single-letter rows begin. The double-lettered rows put you on the glass. Seats about a dozen rows up clear it and show plays developing.

Club ring (200 level)

Premium amenities and a middle height that suits fans who like to follow systems and line changes.

Upper bowl (300 level)

Sections 309 to 312 face the benches; their front rows are the budget pick for a complete view. Upper sections are fairly shallow; section 323, for example, runs rows A to J.

The south end

Unlike most arenas, the south end has no mid-level seating and only one suite level. That drops the upper seats there closer to the ice than you would expect for a 300-level ticket.

The Cellblock, the glass and the end-seat question

• Section 303, the Cellblock: fans here stand, chant and lead cheers the whole game. Buy it for the energy, not for a seated view.
• Glass rows: thrilling for hits and speed, weak for judging play at the far end.
• The end Nashville attacks twice: every home team shoots at one net in two periods, but third-party guides disagree on which end that is here. Do not pay extra for an end seat on that basis; check the listing's chart or ask at the arena.
• Upper corners away from the south end: a longer look at the ice than the south-end upper seats.

Division rivals and a crowded Broadway weekend

Preseason runs in late September. The 82-game regular season, 41 at home, runs from early October to mid-April, and the playoffs run from April into June. The arena also books concerts, the CMA Awards (since 2006) and the PBR's Nashville Stampede (since 2022), so hockey fits around a busy calendar.

• Dallas, Chicago and St. Louis: Central Division rivals that bring road fans and the loudest home crowds.
• Friday and Saturday: games land on top of a full tourist weekend downtown, and visitors in town for the music add demand.
• Late December: holiday-week games outsell November midweek dates.
• Playoff games: the plaza outside fills and the seats inside go quickly.

Lock in weekend and rival games early. A Tuesday or Wednesday game against an Eastern Conference team is usually the value play, and those listings often loosen as puck drop nears.

Garages near Demonbreun, Lot R and the arena rules

The arena is at 501 Broadway, at the foot of the Lower Broadway strip and across from the Music City Center. Its published parking list includes the attached Bridgestone Arena Garage at 6th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street, the Fifth + Broadway garage across the street and the Music City Center garage, among others. Lot R at Nissan Stadium, across the Cumberland River, has been offered free with an optional shuttle. WeGo Central, the main bus hub, is downtown, and many hotels are within walking distance.

As of 2026:

• Bags: no backpacks of any size and nothing larger than 12 by 12 by 6 inches. Bags between roughly 6 by 4 by 1.5 inches and that limit go through X-ray; smaller ones use express lanes. There is no bag storage.
• Payment: cashless.
• Re-entry: generally not allowed.

Confirm the rules on the Bridgestone Arena bag policy page before your game. Reserved Seat orders come with guaranteed entry.

Catfish, fang fingers and the Smashville scene

Nashville fans invented their own rituals fast. The catfish on the ice is a local answer to Detroit's octopus; The Tennessean dates the first one to October 30, 2003. On power plays, the crowd raises fang fingers, two curled fingers, while the arena plays the screeching strings from Psycho. During the 2017 conference finals, Keith Urban held up a catfish on the big screen. Smashville is the long-running nickname for the team and its game nights.

The pregame is downtown itself. Fans pack the bars and restaurants on Lower Broadway before and after games, so allow extra time on weekends when tourists and hockey crowds share the sidewalks.

A saber-toothed cat, a first Final and a Presidents' Trophy

The NHL granted Nashville a franchise on June 25, 1997, and the first game, on October 10, 1998, was a 1–0 loss to Florida. The name traces to a partial skeleton of a Smilodon, a saber-toothed cat, found under downtown Nashville in 1971; the mascot, Gnash, is one too. Team colors are gold, navy blue and white. The arena opened on December 18, 1996, and has carried the Bridgestone name since 2010.

• 2003–04: a first playoff berth, in the sixth season.
• 2011: a first series win, over Anaheim.
• 2016: the arena hosts the NHL All-Star Game.
• 2017: a Western Conference title and a first Final, lost to Pittsburgh in six; Games 3, 4 and 6 were played in Nashville.
• 2017–18: the Presidents' Trophy for the best regular-season record, and the first of two straight Central titles.
• Outdoors: the 2020 Winter Classic against Dallas at the Cotton Bowl, and the 2022 Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium, a 3–2 loss to Tampa Bay.
• February 24, 2022: Pekka Rinne's 35 becomes the first number the club retires.

For the current roster, see the Predators team site.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Nashville Predators
• Wikipedia – Smashville
• Wikipedia – Bridgestone Arena
• Bridgestone Arena – Bag Policy
• Bridgestone Arena – Directions and Parking
• Bridgestone Arena – A to Z Guide
• RateYourSeats – Bridgestone Arena section 323 (orientation)
• RateYourSeats – Bridgestone Arena section 114 (orientation)
• Wikipedia – National Hockey League