Mayor Barry proposes Nashville fairgrounds for new pro soccer stadium

Mayor Megan Barry is proposing a new pro soccer stadium for The Fairgrounds Nashville that will be a crucial item in a bid to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville.

A price tag for the stadium is not determined, and it’s unclear whether the city’s United Soccer League franchise, Nashville Soccer Club, which opens its first season next year, could play at the site.

Barry's preliminary plan, first reported by The Tennessean on Thursday citing sources briefed on the proposal, includes long-needed upgrades to the fairgrounds speedway, while leaving existing facilities at the 117-acre, Metro-owned site south of downtown. It would accelerate a makeover for the fairgrounds, where new recreational soccer fields and green space also are slated.

Barry will formally unveil what she calls a site recommendation Monday at the Rotary Club of Nashville's luncheon at the Wildhorse Saloon.

A local MLS ownership group known as the Nashville MLS Steering Committee, led by businessmen John Ingram and Bill Hagerty, is working to meet a Jan. 31 deadline to bid for one of four available MLS expansion teams. Ten cities, including Nashville, are being considered by the league.

In a statement prompted by The Tennessean’s report Thursday, Barry said that "while no formal proposals or deals have been reached," her office has been working with the ownership group to submit a bid and she fully supports the effort to bring MLS to Nashville.

“Ultimately, a soccer facility will be needed in order to attract an MLS team here to Nashville," she said. "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.

“This will not come at the expense of any existing activities at the fairgrounds, such as racing, the flea market or the fair, but will be in addition to all the great things that are happening there now."

It's unknown how much of a financial stake Metro would have in the stadium’s construction. The new MLS stadium under construction in St. Paul, Minn., is slated to cost $150 million and seat 20,000.

It’s also unclear whether Vanderbilt University — where Ingram is on the board of trustees — could be part of the deal. Vanderbilt and MLS group officials have said a new stadium could be shared by Vanderbilt’s football team and an MLS team. Vice Chancellor David Williams has said replacing aging Vanderbilt Stadium is a top priority for the coming years.

A spokeswoman for Vanderbilt said the university had no comment.

Last year Barry and the Metro Council pumped $12 million into the fairgrounds for improvements and infrastructure work. That included the demolition of multiple dilapidated buildings.

The mayor’s office tapped construction manager Larry Atema of Commonwealth Development Group to oversee the fairgrounds work. Atema managed recent upgrades at Nissan Stadium as well as the construction of Music City Center.

“We appreciate Mayor Barry’s support for Major League Soccer in Nashville as well as the support of the city’s business, civic and sports communities," Clint Brewer, a spokesman for the Nashville MLS Steering Committee, said in an emailed statement. "Nashville has a long history of successful private-public partnerships, and we look forward to working with Mayor Barry and the community to find a win-win for Nashville.”

When asked about the possibility of a stadium that Nashville SC could initially use and then could be expanded for more seating needed by an MLS team, Brewer said plans are “evolving” but don’t include this option.

A representative of the USL’s Nashville SC declined to comment on Barry’s proposal.

Barry said she's asked the fairgrounds manager to initiate a request for proposals for the operation of the racetrack. Newly hired Fairgrounds Director Laura Schloesser is creating a new strategic plan for the fairgrounds. Longtime racing promoter Tony Formosa is contracted to host races at the fairgrounds speedway for this year’s season.

"For too long, we have held back the chances for racing to be successful by limiting the term of the contract," Barry said.

She said the bidding process for the racetrack would 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."

“With playing fields, pro soccer, a more viable racing operation, a greenway through the property and renovated, improved buildings, the fairgrounds will share in and help continue Nashville’s prosperity,” Barry said.

Formosa said he supports the mayor’s idea to bring soccer to the fairgrounds and applauded her commitment to the speedway.

“I feel like we have something very much to look forward to,” Formosa said. “Auto racing has a bright future at the fairgrounds, and if she decides to build a soccer stadium at the fairgrounds to go along with racing and everything else we have here, I am in support of that.”

Other potential stadium sites, including property on the downtown riverfront, have been mentioned, but Metro officials have said the fairgrounds is the most viable.

The area, south of downtown Nashville, is near neighborhoods that are hotspots for new development and close to the city’s most diverse immigrant communities. Nashville’s growing immigrant population and status as a destination for millennials are two of the city’s strongest selling points to land an MLS club.

The stadium could be built on the fairgrounds near Nolensville Pike north of the speedway. This would require reworking a road that connects Wedgewood Avenue and Nolensville Pike — work that has already been recommended by city consultants. The underutilized area, which consists of primarily asphalt lots, is currently used for Metro Nashville school bus parking.

Any formal proposal would need approval from the council and the five-member Metro Board of Fair Commissioners.

“We’ve got a lot going on this year making plans for improvements,” fair board Chairman Ned Horton said. “I’d be eager to see their plans, but I love the idea of soccer coming to Nashville. That’d be great.”

During her first term on the Metro Council in December 2010, Barry supported then-Mayor Karl Dean’s effort to raze the racetrack and redevelop the fairgrounds, but that proposal failed. A referendum then passed in 2011 stating that the city essentially must maintain the state fair, racetrack and other activities that have historically been at the property.

Staff writer Mike Organ contributed to this report.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison. Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and on Twitter @tnnaterau.