'Mother Church of Country Music' Gets Biggest Sponsor in 119 Year History

Nissan, which relocated its headquarters from California to Nashville in 2005, continues to invest in its new home. Today, the automaker is set to announce a major sponsorship with the famed Ryman Auditorium, which will include a country music nationwide talent search called Nissan Recording Sessions from the Ryman.

While the Ryman has had various sponsors of concert series in the past, the Nissan deal will be the largest and most comprehensive corporate partnership in the venue's 119 year history.

“This is our home base and when we made the decision to move from California to the mid-South, we thought it was important to sponsor the icons in the area — what makes Nashville Nashville," Nissan Director of Marketing Bill Peffer told The Tennessean.

The auditorium first opened as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892 and over the years has played host to everything from the Grand Ole Opry to Coldplay.

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