Nashville council advances MLS stadium, but project still in doubt

Joey Garrison | The Tennessean

A Major League Soccer stadium proposed for Nashville's fairgrounds took a step forward in the Metro Council this week, but the $275 million project is still in jeopardy with final votes looming next month.

The council voted 24-7 on Tuesday night to advance an ordinance that would demolish existing buildings at the fairgrounds to clear the way for a future 30,500-seat stadium for the city's MLS expansion club awarded last year. Eight council members abstained from voting.

The bill would also institute a $1.75 ticket tax to help generate revenue to help pay off the project's debt.

Separately, the council voted 24-9, with six abstentions, to advance an ordinance to declare 10 acres of fairgrounds land as surplus property. The same bill would lease those 10 acres to a team ownership group led by billionaire businessman John Ingram for 99 years, allowing the club to build a private mixed-use development next to the stadium.

Bar gets higher for final approval next month

Both votes came on a second of three required readings. It sets up third and final votes on these and two other ordinances needed for the project Sept. 4 when the bar gets higher.

More: Key Nashville council committee recommends disapproval of MLS stadium project

That's when the demolition ordinance needs 27 votes in the 40-member council for final approval. Because it advanced Tuesday with only 24 affirmative votes, Ingram and Mayor David Briley's administration must pick up backing from a net of three council members.

This will become more challenging because Councilwoman Karen Johnson, who voted for the ordinance, is set to roll off the council after being elected Davidson County Register of Deeds earlier this month.

Critics outnumber supporters with Ingram in attendance

A large crowd, dominated by critics of the project dressed in red "No MLS" T-shirts, packed the council chambers. Ingram was in attendance as well, sitting in the middle of the gallery surrounded mostly by a sea of red.

Nashville soccer stadium plans at the fairgrounds for the MLS team Nashville was awarded a MLS team in 2017 and now the city is pushing to build a stadium for the team to play in

Critics, led by council members John Cooper, Angie Henderson and Steve Glover, railed on the plan to lease the 10 acres for the private development. Ingram, with MarketStreet Enterprises, minority owners of the club, have planned a combination of housing, retail, a hotel, public space and other amenities.

"This is an affirmative taking of land cherished by people for more than 100 years," Cooper said. "It is (property) fundamental to Nashville."

Glover asked aloud: "Are we doing a real estate deal here for somebody or are we doing a soccer deal?"

Effort to yank private development from project defeated

Glover, one of the project's most outspoken critics, proposed yanking the 10-acre development out of the project completely, but an ordinance he sponsored to do that failed by a 18-15 vote. Six council members abstained.

Councilman Colby Sledge, whose district includes the fairgrounds and who supports the stadium, defended the private development piece. He echoed the case of the owners, who have said it is needed to enhance the game-day experience for soccer fans while also generating tax revenue.

"Everyone is going to use the property," Sledge said. "It has a promenade. It has public space available. And the things being discussed are housing, retail and community space.

"When you talk about (building) a sports facility like this, there is a need for nearby development. We've seen in this city that sometimes it has happened naturally on its own and sometimes it has not."

Progress said to be made on community benefits agreement

Several council members have made clear they won't support the project next month unless a community benefits agreement is reached.

The Ingram-led ownership and community and union groups of the organization Stand Up Nashville have for weeks been negotiating an agreement to ensure things like living wages for construction workers and a desired amount of affordable housing next to the stadium. It would be the first of its kind in Tennessee for a city project.

In a positive sign on that end, Sledge told his colleagues that parties made "a lot of progress" Tuesday on reaching a deal.

“Tonight’s vote brings us one step closer to Major League Soccer in Nashville, but our work is not done yet," Clint Brewer, a spokesman for the Ingram-led ownership group, said in a statement. "We understand the importance of the community benefits agreement and look forward to continuing to work with Metro Council ahead of the final vote."

Why stadium is on shaky ground even after Nashville was awarded franchise

The council voted 31-6 last November to approve $225 million in revenue improvement bonds for the $275 million overall project — but that action was contingent on future agreements that are now before the council getting approved

Nashville was awarded an expansion franchise by MLS in December, in large part because the stadium plan seemed secure.

More: Nashville made a commitment to MLS soccer; honor it | Editorial

More: Nashville Sports Authority signs off on agreements for MLS stadium at fairgrounds

But much has changed politically since then, including the abrupt resignation in March of former Mayor Megan Barry, who spearheaded the project from the city's end. Briley, the former vice mayor, has taken the baton, but he's untested in winning major projects at the council.

The project is now caught in a climate of restlessness across Metro, a mood created by some issues unrelated to the stadium.

Above all, a rocky budget cycle this spring saw the council renege on cost-of-living pay increase for Metro workers and meeting funding requests of the school district. While the money to pay off the stadium debt comes from a different pool of funds, the optics have created challenges for getting final approval of another expensive municipal financed project.

Public hearing set for Monday

Two other pieces of legislation also require action for the stadium to move forward — a proposal to rezone the fairgrounds to accommodate the mixed-use project and a separate resolution that would issue $50 million in general obligation bonds for fairgrounds upgrades and infrastructure work.

The rezoning, which will includes a public hearing on the proposed land-use change, goes before the council on Monday. The general obligation bond vote is set for Sept. 4, when each piece of the deal will be up for final votes.

Under the stadium plan, Metro would pay $225 million in revenue bonds for the stadium while the team would would chip in initial $25 million capital contribution. The team has committed to cover all cost overruns, and separately is tasked with covering a $150 million expansion fee with MLS.

More: Technicality could derail push for referendum on Nashville MLS stadium

Details of the stadium deal

Under a 30-year stadium lease agreement, the Ingram-led ownership group would pay around $9 million annually to help retire an estimated $13 million in annual debt.

Metro has guaranteed at least $4 million from sales tax revenue collected at the stadium and a $1.75 ticket tax, but the city would be on the hook if those streams don't create the expected amount.

The proposed 99-year ground lease calls for the ownership club to pay a minimum of $200,000 annually for the first 30 years, at which point the amount would escalate, totaling at least $22.8 million over the entire 99 years.

How the council voted on the fairgrounds demolition ordinance:

Yes: Sheri Weiner, Brenda Haywood, Nancy VanReece, Colby Sledge, Kathleen Murphy, Karen Johnson, Jim Shulman, Scott Davis, Bill Pridemore, Burkley Allen, Russ Pulley, Jason Potts, Jonathan Hall, Bill Withers, Kevin Rhoten, Freddie O'Connell, Jeremy Elrod, Fabian Bedne, DeCosta Hastings, Anthony Davis, Jeff Syracuse, Ed Kindall, Davette Blalock, Antoinette Lee

No: John Cooper, Mike Freeman, Doug Pardue, Tanaka Vercher, Larry Hagar, Angie Henderson, Steve Glover

Abstain: Erica Gilmore, Mary Carolyn Roberts, Bob Mendes, Mina Johnson, Sharon Hurt, Jacobia Dowell, Robert Swope, Dave Rosenberg

Not voting: Holly Huzo

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