Nashville Tornado: Titans Owner Pledges to Join in Rebuild Efforts

A tornado touched down in Nashville early Tuesday morning, leading to 21 people being killed and over 150 being injured. The city and its residents have received an outpouring of support throughout the day, including from the professional sports teams that call Nashville home. The Tennessee Titans and owner Amy Adams Strunk have even pledged to join in the rebuild efforts.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to those families who lost loved ones in the tornadoes last night and are heartbroken to see the damage across Nashville and Tennessee,” Adams Strunk said in a statement. “We know the strength of our community and the Volunteer spirit that lives in us all. We will join the efforts to re-build in these areas and know our neighbors will join us.”

The Titans public relations revealed Tuesday morning that all employees of the team were present and accounted for. All power has been restored to Nissan Stadium, but the team’s practice facility is running generator power.

“#Titans post-tornado: Power has been restored to @NissanStadium and state is considering it for relief efforts. Titans’ HQ is using emergency power and the team has encouraged some staff to work from home. They began checking on employees early this morning and all are OK,” Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com wrote on Tuesday morning.

There were 48 buildings that collapsed during the incident. This includes popular concert venue, the Basement East, which the Titans used as the backdrop for Adams Strunk’s statement. There was also extensive damage done to the Germantown, East Nashville, and several other neighborhoods.

There were several areas badly damaged by the tornado, to the point that the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) declared a Level-3 State of Emergency. This level of State of Emergency means that a “serious emergency or minor disaster has occurred or a situation is deteriorating rapidly and public warnings are being issued. The Tennessee Emergency Management Plan (TEMP) is activated and a state of emergency is automatically declared.”

The decision to use Nissan Stadium for relief efforts has not been made just yet, but Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, has opened its doors to the tornado victims. The Predators tweeted out an invitation to everyone affected.

“Dear Smashville Fam, We love you and we want to help. We will be serving pizza at @BrdgstoneArena beginning at 11 a.m. for all those affected by last night’s storm. Please feel welcome to come and bring anyone who needs it. Love, Us,” the NHL team wrote on Tuesday morning.

(Photo Credit: Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)