Faccinto Said Tucker Investment A Good One

Putnam County Commissioners surprised to hear about the Tennessee Titans potential bid to host the TSSAA football championships.

Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham told the commission last February that the university was convinced it could host the championships again as part of a request for $2 million towards Tucker Stadium’s upgrades. Commissioner Vinnie Faccinto said it would be disappointing if Tech cannot get the championship back but the county’s contribution to the stadium is still one of the better things it has done.

“Oftentimes (when) we spend money we get no return on it,” Faccinto said. “And in this particular case, just having that stadium with a winning football program, sky boxes, the advertisers that that brings in and that type of thing, I still think it’s going to be a great thing for the community.”

Faccinto said there will be lots of different opportunities to host events in the stadium. Faccinto said filling that stadium for any event will still benefit local hotels, restaurants, and the community.

“That vote to give funds to Tucker Stadium came out of a special fund that the county has that’s specifically, the only place we can use that money is for tourism and economic development,” Faccinto said.

Faccinto said the county will still work hard to be selected to host the TSSAA championships in the future. Faccinto said Tucker Stadium would provide a very centralized location with a lot of opportunity therein.

Commissioner Kim Bradford said she had not heard about the Titans’ interest in hosting the TSSAA championships until she was asked for her thoughts on the situation.