Designed by HOK Sport (now Populous) in conjunction with the Nashville-based architecture/engineering firm Hart Freeland Roberts, INC., it was designed at an angle on the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue in Nashville in physical homage to the historic Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Beginning in 2002, the arena hosted a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Premier Series event every year (except in 2005 and 2006) through 2019 and again in 2021.

The arena can be converted into the 5,145-seat Music City Theater, used for theater concerts and Broadway and family shows, by placing a stage at the north end of the arena floor and hanging a curtain behind the stage and another to conceal the upper deck.

Kacey Musgraves set the record for the highest attendance for a female headliner with 18,373 fans during the Oh, What a World: Tour.

Which was later broken again by Cody Johnson on February 2nd 2024 with a sold out show of 20,000 fans in attendance for the Leather album tour Besides hosting the Nashville Predators, because of its location near Music Row and Nashville's role as the center of country music, Bridgestone Arena has seen many other famous performers and events: Train New York Dolls Tasha Layton Jon Reddick Terrian KennyHoopla Hot Mulligan

Dinosaur Jr. Fleshwater The Bridgestone Arena was nominated for the 2007 Pollstar Concert Industry Venue of the Year Award.

The facility was officially renamed Nashville Arena again, and all Gaylord signage was removed from the building's exterior on March 16, 2007.

[16] On May 18, 2007, Sommet Group, a Franklin-based collection of companies whose services included human resources administration, payroll processing, software development, computer repair, insurance, and risk management bought the naming rights to the arena, and it became known as Sommet Center.

[18] Unlike the Gaylord parting-of-ways, Sommet Group's name was stripped from all signage inside and outside the arena as soon as the team was legally allowed to do so.

[19] On July 6, 2010, Sommet Group's headquarters were raided by the FBI and IRS due to suspicion of fraudulent activities, and the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated.

[20][21] Sommet's founder, Brian Whitfield, was eventually convicted of fraud, including using some of the fraudulent funds to secure the arena naming rights.

[23] In the summer of 2007 a number of renovations were made to what was then called the Sommet Center at a cost of several million dollars.

Located 0.3 miles away and uphill from the bank of the Cumberland River, Bridgestone Arena escaped heavy damage, but drainage system backups caused several inches of standing flood water to seep into the building.

The Predators had been eliminated from the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs the week prior, and the arena's schedule was mostly clear for the remainder of May as a result.