Mayor Proposes Soccer Stadium At Fairgrounds Nashville

NASHVILLE, TN — A new soccer stadium at the Fairgrounds Nashville proposed by Mayor Megan Barry Thursday could be home to a Major League Soccer franchise if the Music City is able to woo the league to expand here.

With a few extraordinary exceptions, MLS requires its teams to play in soccer-specific facilities, which Nashville lacks. The third-tier United Soccer League, which will add Nashville next season, also generally requires such a facility. The owners of the USL team, Nashville SC, have reportedly be scouting locations for a stadium.

The mayor, however, declared the Fairgrounds the top spot.

“I fully support the effort to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville. While no formal proposals or deals have been reached, we have been working with the local organizing group, led by John Ingram and Bill Hagerty, to submit a great application to MLS," she said in a statement. "Ultimately, a soccer facility will be needed in order to attract an MLS team here to Nashville. I believe a private-public partnership, with an emphasis on the 'private' part of the equation, will be needed in order to accomplish this goal, and I am convinced that the best and only site for this to happen would be at the Fairgrounds Nashville."

No price tag, designs or structure of the public-private partnership were detailed, but Barry emphasized that existing activities at the Fairgrounds, such as auto racing and the flea market, would continue. A Metro Charter amendments requires those activities continues and requires any demolition or redevelopment at the Fairgrounds receive a 2/3-majority vote from the Metro Council.

The mayor has also directed the Fairgrounds staff to develop an RFP that will draw a long-term operator of the Fairgrounds Speedway in an effort to improve the aging site.

“I’ve also asked the Fairgrounds manager to initiate an RFP for the operation of the racetrack. For too long, we have held back the chances for racing to be successful by limiting the term of the contract. This RFP will seek innovative proposals that could result in an operator willing to make necessary capital improvements to the track with a long-term agreement by which they can recoup the investment," she said.

The Tennessean reports the stadium would initially host the USL team and floats the idea that it could also become the home stadium of the Vanderbilt football team.

The Fairgrounds site has long been talked about as a potential home for soccer in Nashville, given its proximity to downtown, the immigrant community of South Nashville and to soccer-crazy (and wealthy) Williamson County.