Nashville’s airport authority plans to sell $1.3 billion of debt in January to meet unprecedented growth — an offering that also bodes well for the broader market to see large deals next year.
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority is proposing a municipal bond sale to help finance infrastructure improvements at its airports, which include Nashville International Airport, dubbed BNA, and to refund outstanding debt. The authority plans to issue a mix of bonds subject to the alternative-minimum tax and non-AMT debt, according to a Nov. 7 securities filing.
US states and local governments have already sold a record amount of debt for the second year in a row, borrowing over $500 billion in the municipal market in 2025, surpassing last year’s tally of $494 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Growing infrastructure needs as well as rising costs due to inflation and tariffs account for the increase.
The Tennessee-based airport authority’s potential mega deal, known in the market as a transaction over $1 billion, portends a strong start to bond sales in 2026. At FHN Financial, municipal strategists anticipate this year will “eclipse” $570 billion in issuance and surpass “the ten-year average by more than 30%,” according to a note from last week.
“We expect another year of heavy supply in 2026, although likely just shy of the records posted this year,” wrote Abby Urtz, head of product strategies and economics at FHN Financial. “Over the long haul, there are a number of forces – retrenchment in federal funding, climate needs, pent up infrastructure demands – that suggest issuance will move structurally higher, but we think austerity is likely to be the bigger influence for now.”
