Interview and Images courtesy Mars Petcare
If you have ever stepped foot in downtown Nashville, you know green space is not in abundance. This can be challenging for pet parents who live in the area. Mars Petcare along with the Nashville Predators decided to change this and this past April they unveiled a space meant just for the pups. The dog park, Pups N Play, is located right outside Bridgestone Arena off of Sixth Avenue. Connect had the chance to speak with Mars Petcare about the venture and what it means for Nashville.
How did the partnership with the Predators come about to create the Pups N Play dog park outside of the Bridgestone Arena?
Mars Petcare is a long-standing Nashville Predators partner and we have teamed up over the years to make Nashville an even more welcoming city for people and their pets while also shining a spotlight on the importance of pet adoption. Recent research cited that there are more pets than children in downtown Nashville so creating a green space for downtown residents was a clear area of need for the more than 5,000 dogs that live downtown. During the planning process for the PupNPlay dog park, the team leveraged insights from Mars Petcare’s BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program, which advocates for pet-friendly communities and offers free resources to support responsible pet ownership.
What can pet parents expect from the Pups N Play park when they visit?
We were thrilled to team up with the Predators to introduce PupsNPlay, a dedicated off-leash dog park in the bustling downtown area adjacent to Bridgestone Arena. The PupsNPlay dog park features a double gate system for safety, rules and responsible pet ownership signage, benches, waste stations and a hydration station for dogs. The space itself offers a great option for pet parents, both local and travelers, to bring their pup while experiencing all that downtown Nashville has to offer.
How have things gone in the three months since the park’s opening?
Since its opening, the greater Nashville community has utilized the new park as a dedicated green space for pets to socialize and exercise, and for pet parents to build connections. By offering a convenient and accessible space for both pets and pet parents, the park allows residents and travelers alike to enjoy the outdoors and feel a sense of community with fellow pet parents in downtown Nashville.
I read a paper discussing where Mars Petcare and Nashville Civic Design Center put together pop-up dog parks in the past. What was learned from this and did it lead to any parks in the Nashville area?
As part of the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program, Mars Petcare continues to work with city government, business leaders and animal welfare experts to advocate for more pet-friendly cities across the country and Civic Design Center is a key partner in the continued expansion of our BETTER CITIES FOR PETS program. Nashville was one of our first-ever BETTER CITIES FOR PETS certified cities and continues to lead the way in innovative pet-friendly programs. The insights and real-time feedback from past pop-up dog parks as well as learnings from other BETTER CITIES FOR PETS certified cities has helped develop and evolve how Mars Petcare approaches planning of green spaces with partners, starting with the PupNPlay dog park at Bridgestone Arena.
Are there any new projects or partnerships from Mars that we can look forward to in the Nashville area?
Mars Petcare is committed to furthering its purpose: A Better World for Pets™. As part of that commitment, Mars Petcare continues to advocate for more pet-friendly communities, including in its own backyard of Nashville and beyond. Working with external partners, both locally and across the country, is a key priority for the company who continues working closely with local partners to expand and develop its pet-friendly amenities across Nashville and surrounding cities.
If someone wants to get involved in the push to make the city a better place for pets or reclaim green space, where should they start?
One of the key elements within the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program is the city certification, which celebrates cities that implement pet-friendly programming and work to keep people and their pets together. To help cities get involved in this effort, the program created resources for local city officials, shelters, landlords and more. For citizens looking to get involved and help get their cities certified, details can be found on BetterCitiesForPets.com/citizen.
