A campaign opposing a proposed 69,000-square-foot AI data center near the Nashville Zoo has surged past 400,000 signatures, fueled by support from Grammy-winning country star Brad Paisley and the zoo’s own petition. The company backing the project says it will
For the third week in a row. the Nashville Zoo’s inbox has carried the same message—this time. louder and harder to ignore. A petition campaign opposing a proposed 69. 000-square-foot AI data center near the zoo has surged past 400. 000 signatures after Grammy-winning country music star Brad Paisley told his followers to take action.
Paisley posted the call to action in an Instagram Reel, urging people to back the effort. In his video. he warned the project—described as being backed by DC BLOX—would be “an absolute nightmare scenario.” He said it. as he put it. “doesn’t belong there. ” adding that he believes the plan “doesn’t have the power” and “doesn’t have the water.” He also called it “an enormous monstrosity. ” saying it would be “an absolute eyesore” and would detract from the zoo and the surrounding area.
Paisley posted the Reel collaboratively with the zoo last week, just days after the Nashville Zoo began promoting its own petition, which had already built significant traction online.
The zoo says its pitch is simple: the project’s risks are too close, too large, and too uncertain.
The zoo drew national attention for its scale—receiving 1.4 million visitors last year and housing more than 3. 700 animals across over 350 species. Paisley described the Nashville Zoo as “one of the top zoos in the world. ” and the petition argues that the proposed facility’s proximity could be damaging for both wildlife and the community.
In its petition. the zoo frames AI data centers as developments arriving “at an alarming pace. ” raising possible risks to “diverse and vulnerable communities.” It says the next facility could be located “just feet away from one of the most fragile and rare collections of animals in the country” unless Nashville Zoo supporters and city leaders intervene.
The zoo also argues that the project would place strain on electricity and water. It says data centers can burden local power grids and water systems and affect nearby environments, while pointing to what it says is a lack of publicly available studies assessing potential harm.
“AI Data Centers are being built at an alarming pace, posing possible risks to diverse and vulnerable communities,” the petition states. It adds that “the next one could be located just feet away” from its animals unless the campaign succeeds.
The petition’s warning to residents is framed around time:
“We cannot afford to find out years from now how this facility has negatively impacted our 1.4 million visitors. our local community. or the 3. 000 animals entrusting us with their care. ” the petition reads. “We are calling on the Nashville community to join us in our fight to stop this data center from being built. now.”.
The facility at the center of the dispute is backed by DC BLOX. an Atlanta-based company that builds and operates data centers for what it describes as “hyperscalers. enterprises. communications providers. and technology companies.” DC BLOX says. on its website. that it currently has 23 data centers in operation and development and is seeking to expand across the U.S.
As opposition has grown, DC BLOX says it is engaging with local officials and the zoo’s leadership.
In a statement emailed to Newsweek. the company said it had “heard and appreciates the concerns” raised about the proposed facility and respected efforts by residents and officials to ensure nearby communities and zoo animals are protected. The company said it would keep discussions going with local stakeholders to better understand concerns and identify solutions it says could lead to what it called “a beneficial outcome.”.
DC BLOX also pushed back against some of the criticism directed at the project, saying it has spent the past decade working to minimize environmental impacts and operate safely in the communities where it builds facilities.
The company says the proposed Nashville site is intended to serve as a cloud and communications facility—an infrastructure need it ties to growing regional internet traffic. DC BLOX says the project would use closed-loop or waterless cooling systems to reduce water consumption. It also says it would cover the cost of electricity used by the facility and any additional energy infrastructure required for the development.
The company says it would comply with environmental regulations and take steps to control noise and lighting.
The Nashville fight is unfolding as resistance to data center expansion becomes more common across the country.
Data Center Map lists 4,346 data centers across the U.S., with 61 in Tennessee. Virginia has the most at 601. Recent months have also seen local protests and legal challenges tied to AI and cloud data center projects in multiple states.
A March Gallup survey found seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for AI in their local area, including 48 percent who say they are strongly opposed. The survey found only around a quarter of Americans favor such developments, with just 7 percent strongly in favor.
With the petition now past 400,000 signatures and Paisley’s involvement bringing fresh attention to the campaign, the dispute over how quickly AI infrastructure should expand—and where it should land—has moved from local debate to a broader, more public collision.
And at the center of that clash is a zoo that says its animals and its visitors cannot wait years to learn what the facility might cost.
Nashville Nashville Zoo Brad Paisley data center petition AI data center DC BLOX Tennessee politics environmental concerns infrastructure