Exclusive: Nashville Soccer Club to play inaugural season at First Tennessee Park – The Tennessean
Court Jeske talks about the future of pro soccer in Nashville.
Joey Garrison
Nashville Soccer Club, the city’s United Soccer League expansion club set to begin competition next year, will play its 2018 inaugural season at First Tennessee Park, home of the minor league baseball Nashville Sounds.
Nashville SC has reached an agreement with the Sounds that will allow all 17 of the soccer team’s 2018 home games to be played at the three-year-old, Metro-owned stadium.
The move will bring the second regular sports tenant to First Tennessee Park since it opened for the Sounds in 2015.
It also clears a critical benchmark for Nashville’s first professional soccer team at any level while Music City also pursues a jump to Major League Soccer and considers a proposed new MLS stadium at the city’s fairgrounds.
“It’s going to be a great environment, intimate viewing opportunity for the spectator, and an opportunity for us to create a great soccer experience both in size and proximity to the field,” said James Cannon, vice president of marketing and communications with Nashville SC.
► More: John Ingram buys majority stake in Nashville SC, aligning efforts for MLS bid
A formal announcement, which will include participation from Mayor Megan Barry, Nashville SC controlling owner John Ingram and representatives from the Sounds, is set for Wednesday morning.
The club will also kick off a campaign called “Plant the Flag” that will seek to raise publicity about Nashville SC’s first season, which begins in March.
Baseball and soccer can coexist at stadium, team officials say
Nashville SC has been working to secure stadium plans for more than a year after Nashville was awarded a USL franchise in May 2016. USL, which has games from March to October, is directly under MLS in the North American soccer league hierarchy.
Ingram, a prominent Nashville businessman leading Nashville’s MLS expansion bid, purchased controlling rights to Nashville SC this past May.
► More: Nashville Major League Soccer group unveils first look at stadium proposed for fairgrounds
To convert the baseball field for soccer, the plan is for First Tennessee Park’s first base line to form one sideline of the soccer field with the opposite sideline going in the outfield. The soccer field will be positioned southwest to northeast. One goal is to be positioned near the right field wall and the other on the third baseline. Turf will replace the infield’s dirt for soccer games.
“We will make sure the pitch condition is paramount for both sports and that the players for the Sounds and the players for Nashville SC have the proper environments to play their games,” said Court Jeske, CEO of Nashville SC.
Nashville SC stadium agreement runs only through next season
Nashville SC’s stadium agreement is with the Sounds and does not directly involve Metro government. It is limited to 2018, meaning a new contract would need to be reached for Nashville SC to continue playing at First Tennessee Park beyond next year.
Jeske declined to discuss details of the agreement, including finances.
He said the organization “looked at all the options” in Nashville before deciding First Tennessee Park would be the right fit. Nashville SC wants to look at the results of team’s first year before deciding stadium plans beyond 2018
“We’re going to target next year and then play it out beyond that — see how high is high, see what the demand is in the market for the team,” Jeske said. “We’re very, very bullish on how big we’re going to be.
“First Tennessee Park is a world-class facility that is in year three. It had all the amenities that we needed: the right size, the right number of luxury suites and hospitality areas, and the right location.”
Other United Soccer League teams play in baseball stadiums
The stadium, which has a capacity of 10,000 for baseball, will hold the same for soccer.
Jeske said Nashville’s SC home schedule will work with the Sounds’ 71-game home schedule.
The shared baseball-soccer concept is not unique. USL clubs in Louisville, Ky., and Reno, Nev., play in minor league baseball stadiums while Las Vegas plans to do the same. New York City FC, an MLS club, plays in Yankee Stadium.
“Nashville SC will be a fantastic partner, and we’re excited to welcome them to our home,” said Adam Nuse, general manager and chief operating officer of the Nashville Sounds.
“This mutually beneficial partnership will help both of our franchises as we continue to grow and flourish in our great city. The Sounds are supporters, not just of Nashville SC, but of our city and the sport of soccer.”
How the USL and Nashville SC fits into Nashville’s MLS push
Ingram is leading an investor group that is competing for one of four expansion slots MLS is looking to fill.
Ingram and Barry administration officials last week unveiled preliminary plans for a proposed MLS stadium at the Metro-owned Fairgrounds Nashville. The mayor’s office has indicated plans to file legislation for a “private-public” stadium deal in October. A price tag is unclear, but recent MLS stadiums have cost between $160 million and $350 million.
► More: John Ingram recuses self from Vanderbilt, MLS shared stadium effort
If Nashville is awarded an MLS club, the plan would be to have Nashville SC elevate from USL play to the higher-level MLS. MLS plans to name the first two cities granted a franchise in December with hopes they will begin play in 2021.
After Nashville hosted well-attended CONCACAF Gold Cup and English Premier League games this summer, the USL is widely seen as another opportunity for Nashville to showcase its growing soccer market to move up to MLS.
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First Tennessee Park has expanded beyond baseball since opening
First Tennessee Park, which opened in 2015 after being pushed by former Mayor Karl Dean, has had a record number of sellouts this year for Sounds game.
The stadium has also hosted college baseball games between Vanderbilt University and Belmont and Lipscomb universities, and on Sept. 29 will host rock band Kings of Leon for the facility’s first concert.
► More: Nashville Sounds stadium’s rushed timeline blamed for busted budget, report says
A recent Metro audit found the construction budget for the stadium, $69.8 million, went nearly $10 million over the $60 million budgeted for construction costs. When factoring in improvements made to other parts to the surrounding north Nashville area, the total project cost was $91 million.
The audit blamed a rushed timeline during what was Dean’s final year in office as a contributor to the budget overshoot.
Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.
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