CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A one-block section of First Street from College to Main Street will close for at least a year starting on Monday to clear the way for further construction of the Multi-Purpose Events Center.

“In the next month, our crane and steel operations will pick up, and some more underground utility work will begin,” John Yunker, construction supervisor for Skanska USA, the project’s construction management company, said in a news release. “It’s the absolute best option to close the street and create a construction zone because of all the activity we will be seeing.”

Jordan Wyman, senior vice president with manager Commonwealth Development Group Inc., said the traffic flow would allow continuing access to the F&M Bank drive-through facility at the corner of First and College.

The one-block section of College between First and Second streets will remain closed to traffic for several more weeks as Clarksville Gas & Water utility construction continues in Downtown Clarksville.

The MPEC, with an estimated construction cost of $115 million, will be a 250,000-square-foot multi-purpose arena facility with seating capacity for up to 6,000 people. Montgomery County has contracted with Powers Management/Nashville Predators for day-to-day management, and Austin Peay State University men’s and women’s basketball will be the primary leasing tenant.
The MPEC structure is expected to have a steel frame by the end of 2021 while the full project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.