Cherry tree outcry inspires relocation plan, apology from Nashville’s local NFL Draft organizers

• The original plan called for 21 cherry trees to be cut down and mulched to make way for the stage.
• After the initial outcry, Mayor David Briley jumped in and demanded the trees be relocated intact.
• Now, local NFL Draft organizers are apologizing and saying only 10 trees will need to relocate.
• It's unclear where the city will move the trees.

Plans to build a gigantic stage downtown for the NFL Draft caused huge controversy this weekend when it came to light that 21 cherry blossom trees were in jeopardy of being cut down to make room.

Thousands signed a Change.org petition in support of saving the trees.

On Sunday, Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation — the local organizing body for April's NFL Draft — apologized to the community for considering cutting down the trees.

"To the citizens of Nashville, to Mayor (David) Briley and to the Metro Council," Spyridon said. "The NFL and our organization heard the public outcry loud and clear.

"We thought we would be helpful in removing the trees and replacing them. We were wrong and we apologize."

Spyridon on Sunday offered insight into the decision-making process behind the future of the trees and clarified how many will be relocated.

He said the number of trees that need to be moved to make way for what is “likely the largest stage ever constructed in the state” will be now be just 10. All of the impacted trees sit back along the circle drive at Riverfront Park.

“None of those beautiful, blooming cherry trees lining 1st Avenue North will be touched,” Spyridon said.

Spyridon said the Convention & Visitors Corp. will hire the best horticulturists it can find to help move those trees "as safely as possible."

“Downtown’s cherry trees have become a part of the cultural life of our city,” Spyridon said.

City to take a few days to finalize relocation plans

The organization will take a few days to finalize plans as they work with experts to protect the trees and the park. It has not yet been determined where the trees will be moved to.

The 2019 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 25-27 in Nashville, centered around the end of Lower Broadway near the Cumberland River. Plans for the stage and other structures were released in late January. A crowd of more than 100,000 fans is likely.

In its bid to host the NFL Draft, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. presented the NFL with the idea of staging part of the multi-day event at the intersection of First Avenue and Broadway by Riverfront Park.

"With the goal of having each draft be iconic in the city it's in, when they really put their eyes on Lower Broad and its neon and its vibrancy, they wanted to make it the centerpiece and we couldn’t disagree," Spyridon said.

Plans moved forward.

But this weekend, the community learned that it may be at the expense of the cherry trees. Originally, a spokesman for the mayor said the trees would be cut down and mulched. 

News their impending demise caused widespread public outcry, a petition circulated and Briley informed the NFL and Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. that they would have to remove them intact and replant them elsewhere in the city.

"If any are found to be diseased or near death when removed, they will be replaced with new, healthy trees," Briley said in a statement.

By Sunday afternoon, nearly 60,000 people signed a petition in support of the trees. 

Change in plans 'not a victory for Nashville,' tree advocates say

Despite the decision to relocate the trees, The Nashville Tree Foundation said isn't pleased.

"This is not a victory for Nashville or its trees," the foundation said in a statement issued Sunday morning. 

"The outcome is effectively the same," the foundation said. "The likelihood that these trees will survive relocation is extremely low, so we should assume that these trees will be lost."

After the NFL Draft concludes, Spyridon said his organization and the NFL will donate 100 cherry trees each — 200 total — to Metro Parks. Those trees should be planted and blooming by the spring of 2020, he said.

Still, Jim Gregory, head of the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps, which started the petition, said the issue at large is "about the history of the city undervaluing the urban tree canopy in our parks."

He said the post-transplant care of the 10 relocated trees will be a significantly difficult task and his organization is skeptical that the long-term investment and care for the trees will actually be provided.

In a prepared statement for the organization, he added: "We are however, not critical of the spirit of this endeavor, and we celebrate the efforts made to save these trees. It is better than not trying at all and the science for large tree transplant and care is advancing.

"We expect the best arborists for this job are chosen and transparency in all aspects of the operation. Our stance on the larger context of this issue and the precedent that this set is unchanged."

PLAZAS:Nashville cherry blossom controversy is not about trees. This is about citizens feeling uprooted. 

Why not relocate the stage, some in community suggest

Many members of the community questioned why the stage simply couldn't be relocated to one of the various other locations in the downtown area that already host large events for CMA Fest, the Fourth of July celebration and others.

Spyridon said it's "physically impossible."

The planned stage at the intersection of First Avenue and Broadway will "likely be the largest stage ever constructed in the state, possibly the country," Spyridon said.

To put that in context, he said it will be as big as what is built inside Nissan Stadium every June for CMA Fest, with an additional 400-foot green room.

It's where NFL hopefuls will emerge to hug Commissioner Roger Goodell and pose for photos after they are drafted. It will also have an awning that stretches out toward Broadway to cover more than 1,000 spectators.

"We got to this level of success by being mindful of who we are and reaching for the stars a little bit and taking Nashville to a new level," Spyridon said.

"Sometimes we got ahead of ourselves, admittedly, but I think you are either growing or dying as a city, and I believe our day job is to showcase the city for the great city that it is.

"In our own brand promise, we talk about protecting the authenticity of the city," he said. "I think it’s a balance. I think this is a good reminder of that balance. Lesson learned. Hard lesson learned."

PUBLIC OUTCRY:Nashville's plan to cut down cherry trees for NFL draft met with outrage online

MAYOR WEIGHS IN:Mayor Briley says cherry trees will be moved, not cut down ahead of NFL draft

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and jbliss@tennessean.com or on Twitter @jlbliss.

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