The fairgrounds originally opened in 1891 as Cumberland Park, a horse racing facility. The Tennessee State Fair took up residence in 1906, and the Davidson County government purchased the site in 1910. On June 22, 1910, fairground attendees witnessed the first night-time airplane flight, with the aircraft equipped with automobile headlights. A major fire on September 20, 1965 — the opening night of the state fair — destroyed four buildings and caused approximately $10 million in damage. The complex was rebranded as The Fairgrounds Nashville in 2015 in an effort to attract a broader range of events.
Among the most significant motorsport elements of the complex is Fairgrounds Speedway, one of the oldest continuously operating racetracks in the United States. The track has hosted NASCAR events at various levels across multiple decades. Plans have been developed to renovate and upgrade Fairgrounds Speedway to host NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series events in conjunction with Speedway Motorsports.
The Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena, constructed in 1922 by workers from South Dakota, stands as one of the complex's principal buildings. Originally used as a flea market, it became a professional wrestling venue operated through the 1960s and 1970s by promoter Nick Gulas. The building earned the nickname the TNA Asylum after Total Nonstop Action Wrestling held weekly pay-per-view events there from July 2002 through September 2004, with the name coined by wrestler Ron Killings during the ninth weekly event. TNA also produced its syndicated television programme TNA Xplosion at the venue during that period.
The arena hosted the Ring of Honor pay-per-view Best in the World 2014 on June 22, 2014, the first-ever live televised pay-per-view for that promotion. The National Wrestling Alliance held its 70th-anniversary show at the building on October 21, 2018. Impact Wrestling returned for the Slammiversary event on June 19, 2022, celebrating 20 years since the company's founding, during which Jordynne Grace won the inaugural Queen of the Mountain match to become Impact Knockouts World Champion for the second time.
In 2009, Mayor Karl Dean announced plans to redevelop the fairgrounds into a mixed-use neighborhood. Opposition prompted a citywide referendum in August 2011 that amended the Metro Nashville charter to protect existing activities at the site; the amendment passed with over 70 percent of the vote. The Tennessee State Fair was moved to the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Tennessee, beginning in 2021 after not being held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The most significant recent addition to the complex is Geodis Park, a soccer-specific stadium built for Nashville SC of Major League Soccer. Its construction anchored a broader redevelopment plan incorporating commercial and residential uses alongside a community park, with the Fairgrounds Speedway renovation forming a central piece of the long-term motorsport ambitions for the site.
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