Nashville leaves MLS meeting in New York upbeat about expansion bid: 'We've made our best case'

NEW YORK — Nashville’s contingent arrived in New York as the new darling of oddsmakers forecasting Major League Soccer’s upcoming expansion decision. Some believe Music City sits atop the list of four finalists seeking two expansion spots.

But after making their final pitch to league officials at a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning, the Nashville ownership team led by businessman John Ingram wasn’t ready to crown themselves just yet.

Optimistic, yes. But no premature celebrating.

Instead, Will Alexander, a member of the MLS2Nashville Steering Committee, reiterated the group’s methodical, check-box approach that has catapulted Nashville from underdogs a year ago to an expansion favorite.

“We're satisfied that we've made our best case possible,” Alexander told reporters after the meeting. “We’re leaving here today thinking that we’ve made a strong, compelling pitch on all the elements that MLS is looking at. Now it’s in their hands to make a decision.”

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Minority owner Mark Wilf of Minnesota Vikings, others join Ingram for final push

For two hours, Ingram, co-investors and other team representatives met with MLS commissioner Don Garber and members of the league’s expansion committee, made up of existing team owners, at the league offices in New York. The meeting was not open to the public.

Nashville’s group was the first to present their expansion proposal to the league, followed by separate presentations from the other finalists, Sacramento, Detroit and Cincinnati. It was a day-long affair in the league’s yearlong expansion process that saw billionaire owners from each of the cities enter the league's Times Square offices to court MLS.

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MLS’s 46-member board of governors, which includes two representatives from each of the leagues’s clubs, is set to meet Dec. 14 to take up expansion. The expectation is to award two cities in the days that follow.

In addition to Ingram and Alexander, Nashville representatives at the meeting were Mary Cavarra, chief financial officer for Ingram Industries, and Eleanor McDonald, general counsel for Ingram Industries.

Also present were minority owner Jay Turner and Dirk Melton of MarketStreet Enterprises, which is planning a private development piece of Nashville's stadium plan at the Nashville Fairgrounds, and billionaire real estate mogul Mark Wilf, another minority owner who is a co-owner of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

Only Alexander was made available for comment.

'Can-do city in a tight-knit community'

Alexander said the group highlighted Nashville’s strongest selling points: a booming economy; a red-hot market with the right demographics, including a growing millennial population; a budding soccer community; and the successes of the city's existing pro sports franchises. He called Nashville a “can-do city in a tight-knit community.”

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He said the ownership group also stressed Nashville’s secured stadium plan, ability to open a stadium in time for the 2021 season, and the potential for a new stadium at the Metro-owned fairgrounds to create a strong fan experience through the revitalization of the area.

Nevertheless, during a brief media availability, Alexander refrained from discussing how he believes Nashville's bid stacks up against other proposals when asked about the other three cities.

“What’s happening in other markets is out of our control, and we’ve stayed focused on what we’re doing in Nashville, as far as communicating that to the league, throughout the process,” he said. “It’s worked out pretty well. It’s hard to know how the other markets are being viewed, but we felt like what we’ve accomplished was well received.”

Owners not commenting on lawsuit over Nashville stadium proposal

Although the Nashville Metro Council approved a resolution on Nov. 7 committing the city to public-private financing plan for the stadium deal, additional votes remain to tear down buildings at the city’s fairgrounds to make way for the stadium and to re-zone land to accommodate the ancillary private development.

Muddying the waters on how Nashville's bid could be perceived, a group called Save Our Fairgrounds sued Metro last week, arguing that the stadium would compromise the site’s ability to continue holding protected fairgrounds uses such as auto racing, flea markets and the annual state fair.

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Alexander said MLS is “doing due diligence on all facets of the bid” when it comes to additional council votes that remain for Nashville's stadium. As for the pending lawsuit, he would not say whether it was discussed in the meeting.

He said he felt like the ownership group was able to answer all the league's questions, but declined to comment whether the league expressed any concerns.

Barry only mayor of four finalist cities not in New York for MLS meetings

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who partnered with Ingram on the stadium, was the only mayor from a finalist city not present for the meetings in New York.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley all made the trip.

Regarding her absence, Barry said she was "willing to attend and do anything I could to support this effort." But she said the investors and her "determined that the strength of our bid and previous work with MLS could stand on its own without my attending the meeting."

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"I have every confidence in their ability to present this great plan to the MLS Board of Commissioners and show why our city would be the best choice for an expansion team." Barry said.

The Sacramento leadership was joined by dozens of boisterous Sacramento Republic FC fans, decked out in team colors, who stood outside the league offices cheering on approval of Sacramento’s bid.

Sacramento, widely considered the other favorite along with Nashville, has been in pursuit of a team for four years — the longest run of the cities. It was the only group of fans that made the trip.

“I can tell you we were very well received.” Steinberg said, adding they plan to take feedback to “make an incredibly strong bid even stronger over the next week.”

Kevin Nagle, chairman and CEO of Sacramento Republic FC, had only nice things to say about Nashville when asked about the fast rise of Music City's bid.

“Fantastic city, fantastic ownership group, fantastic from what we can see from all facets, but really we’re more concerned about where we’re positioned,” Nagle said.

Some MLS observers believe Nashville and Sacramento have a leg up over rivals, in part, because of their growing economies and because they’ve secured public funding for soccer-specific stadiums.

Nashville also has one of the strongest ownership groups, particularly after Ingram brought in the Wilfs, who have a decade-long history with the Vikings and unsuccessfully tried to get a team MLS team in Minneapolis in the past.

The city and county governments in Cincinnati have ponied up $51 million in funding for public infrastructure for a stadium, but that’s still short of the $75 million request by owners. Detroit is asking MLS to ignore its own soccer-specific stadium criteria by accepting Ford Field, the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, for MLS.

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But both cities do hold some advantages over Nashville. Detroit is a considerably larger market. And Cincinnati is a proven soccer market with a thriving United Soccer League club, Cincinnati Futbol Club, that has had averaged 30,000 fans per home game.

"We had a lively discussion, and I think we made a really good case," said Arn Tellem, vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons who is part of Detroit's MLS bid. "And I know there's three other cities that are also going to make good cases for their bids."

He said he believes the team's stadium was viewed positively, but added, "But that's not for me to say."

With Miami in line to be the 24th MLS team, the four cities are competing for the 25th and 26th clubs. At a later time, MLS is expanded to expand by two more, bringing the total number to 28.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.

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