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Report: Proposed MLS stadium unveiled by Nashville group

The proposed Major League Soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville.

The Music City is dancing closer to an MLS team of their own, with only a couple of months of hard work putting them outside of being leading contenders for one of the four expansion spots.

The good thing: a proposed 30,000 spectator soccer-specific stadium has been unveiled by Nashville’s Soccer Club Holdings chairman and leading bid figure, John Ingram.

“Having a stadium that is approved by MLS is an absolutely essential part of ultimately being successful,” Ingram said. “We’ve tried to put together something that we believe represents a great partnership between our MLS-in-Nashville group and the city.”

Stadium financing is still up in the air, but Ingram and co., are heavily supported by Nashville’s mayor office, who are set to ramp up the process and have negotiations finalized within 60 days. In addition, the city and the private group are aiming to file legislation for the stadium deal in October; placing them as serious contenders for December’s expansion call. All, with minimal damage to the taxpayers pockets in what is referred as a “private-public” deal, with an emphasis on the private by Barry.

“We think that an opportunity to bring an MLS team to Nashville is very important to our community,” Mayor Megan Barry’s Chief Operating Officer Rich Rebelling said, adding that a final proposal “has got to minimize the impact to the taxpayers.

“We know that going into this, and that’s one of the parameters that we’ve been using in our discussions,” Rebelling added.

The stadium, which is set to be built on the city’s rundown 117-acre fairgrounds, is visualized as a “dual-purpose” stadium in case Vanderbilt University and their football program are willing to share with MLS. If completed, the HOK designed stadium will be in the league’s upper-tier based on capacity.

“It has many features that will make it one of the best in the league while reflecting the true spirit of Nashville,” Ingram said. “It will be customized for the rich history of the surrounding area and highlight the unique architecture and design found across this city.”

Comments

  1. We sure we want to start doing 30K SSS? Toronto has been dominant this year and haven’t hit 30K once this year. Average of 27,214 with a high of 29,203 and a low of 25,200.

    Reply
    • We don’t need stadiums that big but people just want 30k plus crowds but in reality the best numbers are from 20k-25k if we get another surge in popularity then look to go past 30k. Lets see how Atlanta holds up after their move because other then Seattle nobody gets more then 25k on a regular basis.

      Reply
      • Orlando does. If it wasn’t for the other businesses and original design, Portland would have expanded beyond that already. They’re in the midst of adding more seats to surpass that now, as I recall. New York City draws over 30k, I believe, especially since they are high up the table. Once LA starts winning again, they will hit those numbers. The new LA team will hit those numbers. Vancouver was hitting those numbers, but I don’t know if they are now. DC probably will when their stadium is done. Lots of their fans are just waiting for next season so they won’t have to go back to RFK.

        As for Toronto, you have to remember that the CFL team plays there as well.

        So about a third of the teams in the league have a larger than average stadium capacity and regularly fills it for the most part. Seems correct on the balance of things…

      • “Let’s see how Atlanta holds up after their move.”

        Yeah, you mean, when Atlanta moves from Bobby Dodd to Mercedes Benz Stadium, which incidentally is a shiny new Transformer combined with a, well, Mercedes Benz, and has ALL the gadgets, tech, bells, and whistles of a Futuretopia exhibit?

        Let’s see how I feel about the switch after I switch from Bobby Dodd’s ’50’s-style concrete bunker seats to smart leather. Wait, gimme another sec, I’m too busy watching the re-run on my seatback TV. Gosh, look at that resolution. Also I need another moment to wolf down my $1 hot dog, and then I gotta wash it down with my $1 coke, ’cause Arthur Blank slashed concession prices to near nothing because he wants me to ENJOY all this without worrying about my wallet….

        What were you saying again? Still having trouble hearing you, there’s like, 80K people in here, and I think they just closed the retractable roof. Kinda loud in here.

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