Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.57
Curb Event Center 1801 Edgehill Ave Nashville, TN 37212
Year Opened: 2003
Capacity: 5,085
Claw ‘Em
Nashville is considered “the country music capital of the world”, but it also can boast being a hot bed of college basketball as well. With four NCAA Division 1 basketball programs, Nashville only trails New York City as having the most such programs within its city limits.
The Belmont Bruins made the move from NAIA to NCAA Division 1 at the start of the 2001 season; the Bruins began as an independent program for their first five seasons, prior to joining the Atlantic Sun (A-Sun) Conference. It took the Bruins no time to make themselves feel at home in the A-Sun, claiming both the regular season and conference tournament titles in 2006, and advancing to the NCAA tournament. The Bruins left the A-Sun In 2022, making a jump across the Midwest from the Ohio Valley to the Missouri Valley Conference, where they are looking for another NCAA tournament bid as members of “The Valley”.
The Bruins opened Curb Event Center in 2003, shortly following their move to the NCAA – previously they had called Striplin Gym home, ever since the program was founded in 1953. Curb Event Center is not just an athletic venue, but has also hosted high profile events such as the 2006 Country Music Awards and presidential debates in 2008 and 2020.
Food & Beverage 2
Two concession stands in the main lobby of Curb Event Center serve somewhat limited menus; hot dogs and nachos with cheese are the featured items along with chips, assorted candy, and popcorn. Soft drinks include regular and Diet Pepsi, as well as the lemon-lime staple Starry. Limited flavors of Gatorade are also available, but alcoholic beverages are not available at Belmont.
Atmosphere 3
Curb Event Center is a beautifully constructed facility that certainly was designed to impress. Large pillars frame just as impressively large windows, and the venue’s archways help the building blend in with neighboring campus facilities. Large entry points feed into an equally as large and even more impressive Maddox Atrium, which overlooks the court.
Each corner of the event center has some type of scoreboard, either a rather traditional board that provides time-score-foul information, along with individual player totals, or a larger HD video board which provides similar information.
Timeouts are typically filled by performances from the Bruins spirt squads, backed by pre-recorded music. In a fun way to keep track of made 3-point baskets, cutouts of the number “3” are attached to the feather of a large balloon that floats high overhead at one end of the floor.
Neighborhood 5
Curb Event Center is on the western edge of Belmont’s campus, marking an area of Nashville where the city begins to transition into more residential neighborhoods. Just across the street from Curb Event Center is a small concentration of restaurants which includes Greek, Mexican, a deli, and a bagel shop. 12th Avenue, which creates the eastern boundary of campus, leads to the 12 South neighborhood and its many boutique shops, coffee houses, and restaurants is a popular location. It is also home to a popular Nashville photo stop, the “Believe in Nashville” sign.
The area is neighbored by Vanderbilt University a mile to the west and inner-city rival Lipscomb two miles south. Nashville’s famed Music Row is immediately to the north of Belmont’s campus, while just beyond Music Row is the center of Nashville’s night life, on Broadway, and the home of the Nashville Predators, Bridgestone Arena. A couple of miles to the east is Geodis Park, which could be hosting an MLS Cup match around the same time the Bruins basketball season is getting underway. Also, if in town for a full weekend, catching the Tennessee Titans on Sunday could certainly complement an early season Bruins game on Saturday.
There certainly seems to be an endless number of options in the city to nicely complement Belmont basketball, either from pairing a visit with any combination of Nashville’s other sports teams, professional or collegiate, or taking in the city’s rich country music scene, or just enjoying the Nashville night life – there undoubtedly is a lot that can make a full weekend of a visit to Belmont.
Fans 4
Attendance numbers run from the high 1,000s to low 2,000s, peaking at over 4,000 for the Battle of Broadway against Nashville rival Lipscomb. These numbers typically put the arena at just shy of half full, about middle of the pack throughout the Missouri Valley Conference.
Belmont basketball fans are a big part of the overall Bruins basketball experience, being very in-tune with the ebbs and flows of the game. Fans are also quick to start up a chant of “Defense” immediately following a key basket that could spark a Belmont run.
Access 3
Fans navigating Nashville’s highways and surface streets can often fall victim to typical metropolitan congestion.
The primary parking area is the adjacent parking garage, leaving just a short walk to the main entrance of Curb Events Center, but there is also some street parking along Belmont Boulevard that is near a secondary entrance. Fans enter into a spacious atrium that leads to a walkway, which travels around the entirety of the seating area. The far side of the walkway does pass behind the suites, blocking the view of the court from that side, but it is the only location where that is an issue.
Nashville is a rather biker friendly city; with designated bike lanes on the streets around campus, biking is a real possibility as long as the weather is cooperative.
Return on Investment 5
Tickets start at $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Seating options include any of the non-premium seats in the arena, so basic ticket prices certainly allow fans to be close to the action without having to shell out big dollars to do so. Concessions are a touch higher than might be expected, but consistent with typical arena markups. Considering parking in the adjacent parking deck is free, however, there are not many other NCAA Division 1 programs that offer such a deal when it comes to the all-in price of a night of college basketball.
Extras 3
Banners run the length of the court over the suite side of the seating area – the banners recognize the Bruins conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances for all of Belmont’s athletic programs.
An interactive display in the lobby tells the story of both the men’s and women’s basketball programs at Belmont. A display along the wall behind the suites also looks at the highlights of Bruins teams who have called Curb Center home.
Final Thoughts
There is not tons here to entertain the crowd throughout the game, but there is enough to keep even the youngest fan’s attention. Belmont fans do not seem to need much more than the game to hold their interest – fans of the Bruins have enjoyed a great deal of success over nearly the last two decades, so they understand what good basketball is and the role they play in helping to create a definite home court advantage at Curb Event Center.
As Belmont finds its footing in a new conference, the level of competition they face on a regular basis in conference play will no doubt provide a quality college basketball experience.
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