Nashville MLS owner: Scrapping fairgrounds stadium plan would cost city team - The Tennessean

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The MLS held a special event announcing the decision that Nashville would be awarded one of two expansion spots on Wednesday.

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John Ingram, Nashville SC's lead investor, smiles during the announcement of the new Major League Soccer franchise in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)Buy Photo

The lead owner of Nashville's Major League Soccer expansion franchise warned Thursday that scrapping a plan to build a new soccer stadium at the city's fairgrounds would cost Nashville its recently awarded team.

The pointed letter from billionaire team owner John Ingram — addressed to acting Vice Mayor Sheri Weiner — comes as two council members have filed a resolution that seeks to reopen talks on a stadium site to consider other city-owned properties instead. 

Ingram, pointing to the council's 31-6 vote in November to approve $225 million in bond funding for the $275 million project, said the agreement was specifically made for the fairgrounds. As a result, he said the ownership group is now contractually obligated with the league to provide a stadium at the fairgrounds.

"Failing to build a site at the Fairgrounds Nashville will find us in default of our agreement, expose us to significant damages and would cost the city its MLS team," said Ingram, CEO and president of Nashville Soccer Holdings LLC and president of Nashville Soccer Club.  

► More: MLS grants Nashville expansion club, propelling Music City from underdog to 'soccer city'

Mayor David Briley was copied on the letter. Nashville was formally awarded an expansion bid by MLS in December, beating out Cincinnati, Sacramento and Detroit for teams. The fact Nashville had secured stadium funding was one of its biggest advantages over the other cities. 

But a resolution sponsored by council members Steve Glover and DeCosta Hasting would remove language approved by the council in November that the stadium be required at the city's fairgrounds.

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Hastings has pushed for the stadium to go on parks property in MetroCenter, which is in his North Nashville district. Earlier this year, Hastings had a resolution that sought explicitly to relocate the stadium proposal to MetroCenter, but he shelved the legislation.

Glover, who was among the six council members who voted against the stadium deal, has criticized unauthorized pre-development spending undertaken by the city on the project, which was reported in a series of stories from WSMV-TV. 

"It doesn't take away the fairgrounds, but it also says we need to look at other options as opposed to just stick with the fairgrounds," Glover said of his resolution. "I'm not really certain that there was ever any land that was looked at. And I never agreed to giving away 10 acres of free land. I always thought that was a bad plan."

► More: Nashville MLS expansion team not expected to begin play in 2019

Asked to respond to Ingram's letter, Glover reiterated his point that the resolution would not eliminate the fairgrounds as an option.

"I don't take it as a warning," he said, signaling that he plans to move forward with the resolution. 

Ingram said the Nashville ownership group has already made a significant financial investment to secure Nashville's MLS bid, a reference to the expansion fee required by the league. 

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John Ingram on Nashville being picked for a MLS franchise Video by Michael Schwab/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

"This was the site offered to us by Metro government after significant due diligence executed by the city, and it was the only site included in our winning MLS expansion team bid," Ingram said. 

"It is my hope that we can put the idea to rest that our future MLS stadium can somehow be moved to another location after the fact," he said. "We believe this site has always been the best choice, and we are eager to join the fairgrounds community."

The council voted 16-8, with seven abstentions last week, to defeat an effort supported by Glover and Hastings to rescind Nashville's stadium deal. That's a sign their resolution is likely a long-shot to pass.

►More: Nashville council defeats proposal to rescind Major League Soccer stadium deal

But Ingram and his ownership group are taking the effort seriously. 

That's because although the bond resolution was approved last fall, the council still must approve legislation to tear down buildings at the fairgrounds, finalize a lease agreement with the team and re-zone the property before the bonds are issued and the stadium is built. 

The re-zoning is needed because of a plan to redevelopment 10 acres of fairgrounds land that would be used for a mixed-use project that the ownership group would profit from. 

The demolition bill faces a high bar for approval from 27 council members in the 40-member body for approval. Neither the re-zoning or demolition bills have been filed.

Glover and Hastings did not file the resolution in time for it to be added to Tuesday's council agenda, meaning it won't be taken up until the April 17 meeting unless he asks for a suspension of rules. Glover said he will likely just wait.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison. 

 

 

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