Bridgestone Arena Year in Review: Best of 2022

Farewell, 2022. Hello, 2023.
In a year marked by a gradual return to normalcy following the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the busiest entertainment venues in the world was busier than ever.
Bridgestone Arena - the epicenter of entertainment in the heart of Music City - ended the calendar year with more than 100 events, nearly 50 Nashville Predators games and a smattering of awards and accolades.
The venue once again ranked among world leaders in ticket sales
, placing fourth in the United States for ticket sales with 815,926 tickets sold and seventh in the world for gross ticket sales with $80,647,936.70 in revenue according to Pollstar Magazine's 2022 Year End Industry Report.
Additionally, the Nashville venue also ranked eighth in the world on Billboard's 2022 Year-in-Touring bulletin Top Venues (15,001+ capacity) chart with $94.1 million and 800,000 tickets sold.
But benchmarks and numbers aside, Bridgestone Arena is at its heart a place to make memories for music lovers, Predators fans, friends and families alike.
With that in mind, here are several of the venue's best moments of 2022:

Welcome to Bridgestone
While Bridgestone Arena has hosted thousands of events in its 25-year history, 2022 saw 19 artists take the stage at 501 Broadway as top-billed headliners for the very first time.
From country music royalty Reba McEntire to chart-topping pop sensation Dua Lipa, as well as some home-grown talent from Nashville's own Jelly Roll, 2022 proved a year for the first-timers.

In case you were wondering, here's the full list of Bridgestone's first-time headliners in 2022:
Dua Lipa, Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias, Billie Eilish, Morgan Wallen, Tame Impala, Mount Westmore, Bill Burr, Dude Perfect, Pepe Aguilar, My Chemical Romance, Los Tigres Del Norte, Pearl Jam, The Killers, Ben Platt, Reba, Lizzo, The Judds, Maren Morris, Jelly Roll.
Make Room in the Trophy Case
It wouldn't be a complete year at Bridgestone Arena without some new hardware to show for, and once again, 2022 did not disappoint.
First, the venue received industry recognition and was named
Arena of the Year from both the Academy of Country Music
and International Entertainment Buyers Association.
Executive Vice President of Entertainment and Venues David Kells also received some well-deserved praise, and was named
Venue Executive of the Year by both the IEBA and Pollstar Magazine
.
Predators Host Blackhawks on New Year's Day - Jan. 1, 2022
What better way to ring in the new year than with some storied hockey rivalry?
As the world welcomed 2022, Bridgestone Arena welcomed the rival Chicago Blackhawks to Smashville for a Central Division clash on New Year's Day.

The Predators would ultimately get the new year off to a winning start,
toppling the Hawks by a decisive 6-1 final
.
U.S. Figure Skating Championships Return - Jan. 3-9, 2022
Twenty five years after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships became the very first sporting event to come to Bridgestone Arena - back then, just "Nashville Arena" - the prestigious national championship was back in Music City and under Bridgestone's roof once more.

Even as inclement winter weather threatened to derail some of the scheduled competitions, Bridgestone kept its doors open and watched as some of the best figure skating talent in the world put on a remarkable show.
Pekka Rinne's No. 35 is Retired - Feb. 24, 2022
Adding to the list of firsts for Bridgestone Arena, on Thursday, Feb. 24, the home of the Nashville Predators lifted its very first jersey number into the rafters.
The recipient of the historic honor was former netminder Pekka Rinne, the winningest Predators goalie and the winningest Finnish-born goaltender in National Hockey League history.

With friends, family and over 17,000 of his biggest admirers in attendance,
Rinne watched on as his No. 35 was raised to its permanent home above the net he protected for his entire NHL career.
SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Returns - March 2-6, 2022
Basketball at Bridgestone Arena just means more.
As the calendar flips to March, the Nashville Predators ice surface is covered by hardwood and the crowd in Gold and Navy replaced by the oranges, blues and reds of the Southeastern Conference's most ardent followers.

The annual SEC basketball tradition continued earlier this year with the return of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, back under the roof at 501 Broadway for the first time since 2018.
This year, fans were treated to a true Cinderella Story, as No. 7-ranked Kentucky toppled the No. 1-seeded South Carolina for their second SEC title in program history.
Eighth Consecutive Stanley Cup Playoffs - May 2022
In May, the home of the Nashville Predators reached another milestone as it hosted postseason action for the eighth consecutive year - the second-longest active postseason streak in the NHL.

While Nashville ultimately dropped games three and four - and the first-round series against Colorado - at Bridgestone, the playoff atmosphere inside Smashville brought everything Preds fans have come to expect over the years, and then some.
56th Annual CMA Awards - Nov. 9, 2022
It ain't Bridgestone Arena without country music.
In November, the genre's most prestigious event returned to 501 Broadway for the 16th time since 2006.

The 2022 CMA Awards brought country music superstars, rising talent and fans together under Music City's biggest roof for a night of spectacular musical performances and honors, and proved once again that Bridgestone is where country music lives.
Bridgestone Welcomes Preds Hockey, Maren Morris Back After Flooding - Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2022
On what was supposed to be a Gold Friday filled with Preds and college hockey, Bridgestone Arena's operations staff and partners instead spent the day after Thanksgiving - and many hours beyond - cleaning up flooding damage to the arena's concourse and event level from a burst water main outside.
Fortunately,
after a tireless, round-the-clock effort, Bridgestone's doors did not stay shut for long
, and on Thursday, Nov. 29 the venue reopened to welcome Smashville back for Preds hockey.

Three nights later - as recovery efforts continued beneath the stands - it opened its doors again for fans of country superstar Maren Morris.
After all, in the Music City's busiest building, the show must always go on.