While Nashville isn’t primarily known for its sports culture, the city has a surprisingly passionate fan base as well as the infrastructure to support them.

Nashville is home to the NFL team the Tennessee Titans, NHL champs the Nashville Predators, minor league favorite the Nashville Sounds, and, new kid on the block, Nashville Soccer Club.

With each of these teams comes a stadium of some sort, and in the case of the Nashville Soccer Club, plans for their upcoming arena are set to include affordable housing for the affected neighborhood’s residents. In this way, the city often tries to work with developers and residents to insure that the massive footprint of a sports complex integrates into a given neighborhood’s culture. 

It’s safe to say that Nashville’s economic, social, and cultural progress in the last decade can often be seen through the vantage point of sports. The city banded together like never before when the Preds made a run for the Stanley Cup in 2017, and the Sounds Stadium, First Tennessee Park, is more than just a baseball field, it’s a place for families, co-workers, and friends to gather.

Keeping all this in mind, there are surely some Nashville neighborhoods more amenable to ravenous sports fans than others. The following is a run-down of such strongholds in no particular order.

Hillsboro Village

In the shadow of Vanderbilt University where the Commodores bring collegiate competition to a new level in the city, sits Hillsboro Village. A blend between quiet residential side streets and a semi-urban town center, this neighborhood is the college sports bar capital of the city.

Locals congregate at Double Dogs where they can enjoy their favorite sports event on no fewer than 20 flat screen televisions. There is truly not a bad seat in the place. The more understated fan enjoys Pizza Perfect where friends can scoot into booths and enjoy a slice and a pitcher while watching the game in relative peace and quiet. Think “Boy Meets World,” ‘90s throwback—it’s charming.

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Germantown

Home to First Tennessee Park and the Nashville Sounds, Germantown is a neighborhood where even the most ambivalent sports-goer has probably seen a live game. Locals flock to the Sounds stadium not only to see the team play, but also to enjoy the off-the-charts amenities the facility offers like the outfield decks and picnic areas that are optimized for group outings. 

In the shadow of the stadium sits Von Elrod’s Beer Hall and Kitchen where fans can enjoy a post-game craft brew in keeping with Germantown’s heritage. Locals also love Germantown Pub for its no frills, low-key sports bar accessibility. Bonus: Just across the river is a massive Top Golf complex for urbanites who don’t have time to drive out of town to hit the links.

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East Nashville

Like a city unto itself, East Nashville has just about everything a resident might need. From upscale dining and craft cocktails to kid-friendly establishments and abundant greenspace, this neighborhood has it all, and there is no shortage of sports bars in the mix. 

Nashville’s only official Boston Red Sox bar, Boston Commons is situated among the east side’s most dense block of sports bars. Just down the street is Beyond the Edge where the most hardcore sports fans congregate to drink beer and sit on the edge of their seats. More mainstream, family-friendly offerings include Noble’s Kitchen and Beer Hall and BoomBozz, which is specifically geared toward sports lovers and their children with a full playground out back by the patio.

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Sylvan Park

A charming west-side neighborhood, Sylvan Park is a relatively quiet enclave within a 15 minute radius of Downtown. The tight-knit community in the area is made even tighter by the bond of sports. Although Sylvan Park comprises a small geographic footprint, the neighborhood is home to at least three sports bars on the same corner at the center of town.

McCabe Pub is the elder statesman of the bunch with sports memorabilia adorning the walls and an understated “Cheers” vibe that permeates the establishment. The rowdy younger sibling to McCabe is Neighbors Pub which bills itself as a prime location for drinking beer cheaply and watching the local teams do battle. 

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Melrose

One of Nashville’s original sports bar strongholds, Melrose is a neighborhood known for its unique bar culture. Past incarnations of the neighborhood saw it home to more unconventional sport offerings like a bowling alley and pool hall. While the times certainly have changed, the rugged, semi-urban culture of Melrose remains in tact.

Now residents love M.L. Rose, a beer and burger joint that pays tribute to the neighborhood and sports the classic, massive television screens that fans know and love. 

Just across 8th Avenue, the iconic Melrose Billiard Parlor stands strong in the basement of a renovated, vintage strip mall. Established in 1944, this dive wasn’t going down without a fight when, a few years ago, developers threatened to shut it down. Now there is just as much pool shooting, ping-pong playing, and smoking inside as ever—and that’s just the way locals want it.