F&M Bank Arena

F&M Bank Arena
Location	Clarksville, Tennessee
Coordinates	36°31′46″N87°21′35″W / 36.52944°N 87.35972°W
Owner	Montgomery County, Tennessee
Operator	Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment, LLC
Capacity	Sports: Concerts: 6,000; Basketball: 5,500; Ice Hockey: 5,000;
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	November 12, 2020
Opened	July 2023
Construction cost	$115 million
General contractor	Skanska
Tenants
	Austin Peay Governors men's and women's basketball (2023-present); Nashville Kats (AFL, 2024-present, one game only)

Last updated November 13, 2024

F&M Bank Arena is the arena for the Austin Peay Governors men's and women's basketball teams of the ASUN Conference. Located in Clarksville, Tennessee, it seats around 6,000 people. In addition to the main space which holds events such as APSU's basketball games, concerts, banquets, conventions, and many other events; there is a second floor of F&M Bank Arena that will mainly be used for figure and youth skating.^[1] Replacing Winfield Dunn Center, whose basketball arena has been converted to a volleyball-specific facility, both the men's and women's basketball teams moved from Winfield Dunn Center to the arena. The facility includes locker rooms, coaches' offices, and training rooms for both teams.

History

Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett had a vision for Downtown Clarksville and in November 2019, the Montgomery County Commission approved funding for the new multi-purpose event center. However, no bonds for paying for the arena would be signed until Austin Peay signed to be the main tenant and the Nashville Predators signed to manage the facility. The new arena features two ice rinks, space for concerts and events, as well as a practice gym for Austin Peay Men's and Women's Basketball.

Groundbreaking was held on November 12, 2020, which was attended by Mayor Durrett, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, as well as officials with the Nashville Predators, and the CEO of F&M Bank.

Sabertooth Sports and Entertainment, which is owned by the Nashville Predators, operates the arena. On July 30, 2021, F&M Bank officially agreed to a naming rights deal for the Arena.

Construction was completed by January 2023, with the arena officially opening in July 2023.^[2]

The arena is part of a bigger project to bring more life to downtown Clarksville. Across the street from the arena, a three-story restaurant development called Shelby's Trio was built, consisting of a rooftop bar and two restaurants. Set to be built behind the arena is Riverview Square, which will consist of restaurants and shops, as well as renovation of the Riverview Inn, which will become a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. A parking garage is also planned to be built with this development as well.

Ford Ice Center which operates year-round will be the home of Austin Peay's new club hockey team beginning next year.

On May 18, 2024, the arena hosted its first Arena Football League game when the Nashville Kats hosted the Wichita Regulators.

Related Research Articles

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Saint Bethlehem or St. Bethlehem, also called "St. B" by locals, was an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Tennessee, located just northeast of downtown Clarksville. St. Bethlehem has been incorporated into Clarksville city limits and is no longer a separate community, although locals still refer to that portion of Clarksville as "St. B". The main U.S. post office for Clarksville is in the St. Bethlehem community on U.S. Route 79.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunn Center</span>

The Winfield Dunn Center is a 132,000-square-foot (12,300 m²) facility, located on the main campus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. Construction began on the (then) $5.3 million facility in 1973, and the building opened in 1975. It is home to the Austin Peay Governors men's and women's basketball teams through the 2022–23 season, and will continue to be home to Peay's women's volleyball team after the basketball teams move. It also serves as an indoor practice facility for the baseball, softball, and track and field teams. It also houses the athletics department's weight room and the David P. Roe Academic Services Center which was named for alumnus Phil Roe. The building was named for the governor of Tennessee at the time of its construction.

The Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represents Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Governors play in the ASUN Conference starting in 2022–23, following 61 seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament to date was in 2016, making the field of 68 by virtue of having won the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament. The Governors' head coach is Corey Gipson.

William "Sammy" Stuard Jr. is the CEO and President of F&M Bank, which has its headquarters in Clarksville, Tennessee, and has current assets of over $1.2 billion. He is also a past Chairman of the Tennessee Bankers Association. Stuard received the 2020 Wendell H Gilbert Award from Austin Peay State University. [In 2007, Stuard was named "Community Banker of the Year" by the American Banker Magazine. He currently serves on the FHLB of Cincinnati, Clarksville Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors and the ASPIRE Foundation. Stuard has also held a number of government and civic positions, which include serving as a past Montgomery County, TN Commissioner, past chairman of the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce, and the Clarksville Economic Development Council.

The Austin Peay Governors women's basketball team represents Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Governors currently compete in the ASUN Conference.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Clarksville, Tennessee, United States.

The 2017–18 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represented Austin Peay State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by first-year head coach Matt Figger, played their home games at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 12–6 in OVC play to finish in third place. They defeated Eastern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Belmont. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Louisiana–Monroe in the first round, a game referred to as the Coach John McLendon Classic, and received a second round bye before losing in the quarterfinals to UIC.

The 2020–21 Austin Peay Governors basketball team represented Austin Peay State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by fourth-year head coach Matt Figger, played their home games at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 1992–93 Austin Peay Governors basketball team represented Austin Peay State University in the 1992–93 season. The Governors, led by 3rd-year head coach Dave Loos, played their home games at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 2021–22 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represented Austin Peay State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by first-year head coach Nate James, played their home games at the Winfield Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 12–17, 8–10 in OVC play, to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the OVC tournament, they lost to Tennessee Tech in the first round.

The 2022–23 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represented Austin Peay State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by second-year head coach Nate James, played their home games at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee as first-year members of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 3–15 in ASUN play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the ASUN tournament.

The 2023–24 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represented Austin Peay State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by first-year head coach Corey Gipson, played their home games at the newly opened F&M Bank Arena located in Clarksville, Tennessee as second-year members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).

The 2023–24 Austin Peay Governors women's basketball team represented Austin Peay State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Governors, led by third-year head coach Brittany Young, played their home games at the newly opened F&M Bank Arena located in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the ASUN Conference.

The 2024–25 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represents Austin Peay State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by second-year head coach Corey Gipson, play their home games at F&M Bank Arena located in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

References

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[1] "Inside the F&M Bank Arena construction site in downtown Clarksville | PHOTOS".

[2] "F&M Bank Arena construction should be finished by end of year | VIDEO".

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v t e Austin Peay Governors basketball
Venues	Memorial Health Gymnasium ("Little Red Barn"; 1952–1975) Winfield Dunn Center (1975–2023) F&M Bank Arena (2023–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25