Status as of July 11, 2026: PROPOSED, not approved. This page tracks the project as it moves through Franklin's approval process and will be updated as the status changes.
Franklin may finally get its own ice. In late June 2026, a development called The Banks at Brownland was proposed for the 233-acre Brownland Farm property on Hillsboro Road, just outside downtown Franklin, and the centerpiece is a 100,000-square-foot ice facility with two sheets of ice, planned to be operated by the Nashville Predators. If it is built, it would be the first public ice facility of its kind in Williamson County, and it would change the south-of-Nashville skating map more than anything since the Nolensville sheet opened.
Here is what has actually been proposed, where it stands, the history of the site that will shape the approval fight, and what Williamson County skaters can do in the meantime.
What has been proposed
The Banks at Brownland is a sports-focused, mixed-use redevelopment of Brownland Farm, the longtime equestrian property near the Hillsboro Road and Mack Hatcher Parkway intersection, brought forward by developer BLVD Capital with three professional franchises attached as partners: the Nashville Predators, the Tennessee Titans, and Nashville Soccer Club.
The published plan includes:
- A 100,000-square-foot ice facility with two sheets of ice, operated by the Predators and described as operating similarly to the Ford Ice Centers in Antioch and Bellevue
- Eleven multipurpose fields for football, soccer, and lacrosse
- A golf practice facility with a technology-driven driving range and putting green
- Neighborhood retail, restaurants, a grocery store, fitness, and medical space
The two-sheet detail is the one that matters most for skaters. Two sheets is how a building runs public skating, learn-to-skate classes, freestyle ice, youth hockey, and adult leagues at the same time instead of making them fight for slots. It is the Ford Ice Center model, and both existing Ford Ice locations run exactly that mix.
Where the approval stands
The project must pass through Franklin's development approval process, and as of this writing it has not. The developer has said groundbreaking could come in 2027 if the proposal is approved. No opening date exists, and none can exist until the project clears rezoning and site approval. A two-sheet ice facility is also a long build once ground breaks, so even the best case puts skateable ice several years out.
The history that will shape the fight
Brownland Farm has been down the rezoning road before, and it did not end in approval. From 2020 to 2022, a residential development was proposed for the same property, revised repeatedly (from as many as 791 units down to 356), and in April 2022 Franklin's mayor and aldermen voted unanimously to deny it. The core issue was the Harpeth River: the property sits in a bend of the river's floodplain, city staff and the planning commission both recommended disapproval, and flood modeling showed Hillsboro Road inundated on both sides of the property entrances in major flood events.
That history cuts both ways for the new proposal. The flood concerns did not move, so expect them to dominate the public hearings again. But a sports complex is a different land use than hundreds of homes: fields and parking flood differently than bedrooms, and the developer has been publicly addressing community concerns since the announcement. Whether that difference is enough is exactly what the approval process will decide. This page will track it.
There is also an older history hanging over the stakes: Williamson County has lost ice before, two full sheets at A-Game Sportsplex in Cool Springs that closed abruptly in 2016 and never came back, a story we tell in our Franklin ice rink history.
What Williamson County skaters should do in the meantime
Nothing about this proposal changes where you skate this week, and the current answer is better than most Franklin families realize. Gary Force Acura Ice Arena in Nolensville is Williamson County's year-round NHL-size sheet, with public skate, stick and puck, and freestyle sessions registered online. The nearest Predators-operated ice today is Ford Ice Center Antioch, home of the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy's Learn to Skate program, with Ford Ice Center Bellevue covering the west side and Centennial Sportsplex Ice Arenas as the downtown walk-in option.
The full local picture, including booking systems, prices, and lessons, lives in our Franklin and Williamson County guide and the Nashville ice skating hub.
Questions people are asking
When would the Franklin ice rink open?
There is no opening date. The project is proposed, not approved. The developer has targeted a 2027 groundbreaking if approval comes, and large ice facilities typically take well over a year to build after that. Treat any specific opening year you read as speculation until the Predators or the developer announce one.
Who would run it?
The Nashville Predators, the same organization that operates the Ford Ice Centers in Antioch and Bellevue. Coverage of the announcement describes the Franklin facility operating similarly to those buildings.
Will it have public skating and lessons?
Nothing is officially programmed yet. But the Ford Ice Center model the coverage points to runs public skate sessions, Learn to Skate USA classes through the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy, freestyle ice, and youth and adult hockey, and a two-sheet building is designed to carry that full mix. If the Franklin facility follows the model, expect the same menu.
Why might it not happen?
The same reason the last Brownland Farm project did not: the Harpeth River floodplain. Franklin denied a residential plan for this property unanimously in 2022 over flood and public safety concerns. The sports-use proposal will have to answer the same questions.
Where is Brownland Farm?
On Hillsboro Road near the Mack Hatcher Parkway intersection, just northwest of downtown Franklin, about a mile from the Harpeth River's bend around the property.
Update log
- July 11, 2026: Page published. Project status: proposed; in Franklin's approval process. Sources: WSMV (June 25 and June 30, 2026), Williamson Source, NewsChannel 5, Youth Sports Business Report coverage of the announcement; Williamson Herald and Harpeth Conservancy records of the 2022 denial.