The Nashville Kats

What The Nashville Kats does

The Nashville Kats is a professional arena football franchise operating in the Arena Football One (AF1) league and constituted as Nashville Arena Sports, LLC, a privately held limited liability company. The franchise traces its origins to 1997, with subsequent incarnations in 2005-2007 and a revival in 2024; for the 2026 season it relocated its full-time home schedule to F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee, after initially playing at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, with a corporate/mailing address in Brentwood, TN. The organization employs 11-50 people and is anchored by Chairman and Principal Owner Jeff Fisher (a 22-year NFL head coach who also serves as AF1 commissioner), Managing Partner Jeff Jarrett, COO and Partner Greg Pogue, and Hall-of-Fame Head Coach/GM Darren Arbet.

Revenue is generated across four streams: ticket sales (individual, season, and group packages distributed through the F&M Bank Arena box office and online platforms including Ticketmaster for away games), official merchandise (apparel and memorabilia sold at games and through the Royal Retros Shopify storefront), corporate sponsorships (with regional partners such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Thomas Restoration, BASStire, Byers & Harvey, Visit Clarksville, and Jodi's Cabinets, with sponsor inquiries directed to a dedicated email), and group/corporate ticket packages. Pricing is per-game and varies by matchup; ticket prices are not publicly disclosed, children over two require a ticket, a 10% military discount is offered with valid ID, and refunds are issued only if a game is canceled.

The business is event-driven: seven home games per season at F&M Bank Arena are supplemented by community appearances (Kool Kat mascot, Lady Kats dance team, players, Coach Arbet, and Jeff Fisher available via an appearance-request form), a 102.5 FM The Game broadcast partnership, AF1 streaming via HomeTown Network and select VICE Sports coverage, and a multi-channel social presence (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok). The franchise holds registered trademarks for the "Nashville Kats" and "Kool Kat" marks, operates the "Lady Kats" dance-team sub-brand, and uses the common-law "#KlawsOut" slogan; ancillary service lines include paid community appearances and internship pipelines in media, operations, and community relations.

Name

The Nashville Kats

Legal name

Nashville Arena Sports, LLC

Website

https://nashvillekats.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Nashville Kats is a privately held professional arena football franchise in the AF1 league, playing its 2026 home schedule at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee, and generating revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships, and merchandise sold to local fans, families, and regional corporate partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from individual game tickets, season tickets, and group ticket packages sold through F&M Bank Arena box office and online platforms. Box office contact is (931) 343-3622.
2. Merchandise Sales: Official merchandise including team apparel and memorabilia sold at home games and online through the AF1 partnership with Royal Retros.
3. Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships with local and regional businesses including Thomas Restoration, Buffalo Wild Wings, Visit Clarksville, and others. Sponsorship inquiries directed to [email protected].
4. Group Tickets: Group ticket sales for corporate functions, community events, and organizational outings. Group ticket inquiries via (931) 343-3622.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Nashville Kats is a professional arena football team competing in the Arena Football One (AF1) league, playing home games at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee. The franchise generates revenue by selling game tickets, official team merchandise, and corporate sponsorship packages, while also offering community appearances featuring players, coaches, mascot, and the Lady Kat Dancers.

Product overview

The Nashville Kats is a professional arena football team competing in the AF1 league, based in Clarksville, Tennessee at F&M Bank Arena. The organization offers a single core product—arena football games—supported by ancillary services including game tickets, official merchandise through an online shop, corporate sponsorship packages, community appearance requests featuring players and mascot, media and entertainment content, and student internship programs across media, operations, and community relations departments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lady Kats: Dance team for the Nashville Kats organization
• Kool Kat

Products and services

• Arena Football Games Professional arena football games played as part of the Arena Football One league at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee, for fans in the Middle Tennessee market.
• Game Tickets Tickets for home games at F&M Bank Arena, available for purchase online or at the box office; group ticket packages and a 10% military discount are offered.
• Team Merchandise & Online Shop Official team merchandise including apparel and memorabilia sold at home games inside F&M Bank Arena and online through the AF1 partnership with Royal Retros at the team's Shopify storefront.
• Corporate Sponsorship Packages Corporate sponsorship opportunities for businesses to partner with the Nashville Kats for brand visibility, marketing activations, giveaways, and game-day signage.
• Community Appearances Mascot Kool Kat, players, Coach Arbet, Lady Kat Dancers, and Jeff Fisher available for private events, corporate functions, charity events, and community events booked via the appearance request system.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sellout crowds exceeding 5,000 fans per game at F&M Bank Arena
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Arena Football One (AF1)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The Nashville Kats compete in the Arena Football One league, the rebranded Arena Football League relaunched in 2024. AF1 organizes league operations, scheduling, officiating, and broadcast partnerships including HomeTown Network streaming and VICE Sports coverage.
• F&M Bank ArenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamed venue for all Nashville Kats home games in Clarksville, Tennessee. Partnership hosting all seven home games for 2026 season with expected sellout crowds.
• Visit ClarksvillemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial tourism partner of the Nashville Kats, promoting the team and local attractions to visitors and residents in the Clarksville/Montgomery County area.
• 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerFort Campbell-based military division participates in Military Appreciation Nights with special game-day activations including the rappelling team delivering game balls and band performances.
• Darren ArbetcoreOthersHall of Fame AFL coach serving as Head Football Coach and General Manager. Led San Jose SaberCats to four ArenaBowl championships over 17 seasons as head coach. First African-American head coach to win a pro-football championship.
• 102.5 FM The GameminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNashville sports radio station providing broadcast commentary for games, featuring Jake Lyman on play-by-play and Joe Dubin on color commentary.
• Royal RetrosminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAF1 merchandise partner providing online merchandise sales platform for team apparel and memorabilia through the katsfootball.myshopify.com storefront.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Orlando Predators: Historic arena football franchise that has operated across multiple league iterations. Comparable product offering (ticketed indoor football games) and similar reliance on local sponsorship, ticket revenue, and merchandise sales.
• Albany Firebirds: Direct AF1 league competitor that defeated the Nashville Kats 60-57 in the 2025 Arena Crown championship. Operates as a professional arena football franchise in the same league with comparable ticket, sponsorship, and streaming revenue model.
• Billings Outlaws: AF1 league competitor that eliminated the Nashville Kats in the 2024 semifinals (35-32). Same league, similar franchise size, revenue model (tickets, merch, sponsorships), and competing for the same championship-level brand momentum.
• Iowa Barnstormers: Long-standing arena football franchise with similar team economics and fan-base scale. Operates in the same professional indoor football ecosystem, competing for similar sponsorship and ticketed attendance dollars in a comparable mid-sized market.
• Bay Area Panthers: AF1 league peer where current Nashville Kats head coach Darren Arbet previously served as head coach and GM. Comparable indoor football franchise operating in the same league with shared coaching lineage and similar team economics.
• Tucson Sugar Skulls: Arena football franchise competing in similar mid-market geographies with parallel revenue streams (tickets, group sales, merch, local sponsorships). Direct comparability in scale, market type, and operational footprint.
• Jacksonville Sharks: Arena football franchise with a comparable operational profile — ticketed home games, corporate sponsorships, merchandise, and community appearances. Closely aligned business model and target fan segment for indoor football enthusiasts.

Broad incumbents

• Arizona Rattlers: One of the most historically successful arena football franchises. While broader in scope and legacy, the Rattlers share the same indoor football product, target fan demographic, and sponsorship-driven business model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NashvilleKatsFB
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCf9ZJex9vHjN6rGhc-DO-sg
• Facebookfacebook.com/KatsFootball
• Instagraminstagram.com/katsfootball
• TikToktiktok.com/@katsfootball?lang=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nashville-kats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Nashville Kats