Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Businessman John Ingram, who is leading an effort to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville, has now purchased a majority stake in Nashville SC, the city's lower-league team set to begin play next year.

It makes Ingram majority owner of Nashville SC. And it means that Nashville's MLS bid is now aligned with the United Soccer League's Nashville SC, likely strengthening Nashville's candidacy for one of four MLS expansion spots.

“Our effort to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville and the mission of DMD Soccer are now jointly committed to elevate and expand professional soccer in Music City,” Ingram, chairman of Ingram Industries Inc., said in a statement Thursday announcing the acquisition.

“We plan to give Nashville SC fans an exceptional soccer experience, starting with this season’s debut of the organization’s PDL (Premier Development League) team, which will lead to a successful debut in the USL as we continue to grow the game in Nashville at every level.”

The billionaire Ingram, under the entity Nashville Holdings LLC, acquired majority interest in DMD Soccer, the ownership arm of Nashville SC founded by David Dill, president of LifePoint, and Nashville entrepreneurs Chris Redhage and Marcus Whitney.

The team did not release details of the financial transaction.

For months, talks had swirled about a potential partnership between Nashville SC and the Ingram-led MLS Steering Committee, which includes a long list of Middle Tennessee business heavyweights who support MLS in Nashville. Presenting a united soccer front is seen as a boost for Nashville's MLS chances.

“John Ingram has a long history supporting sports in Nashville," Dill said. "He will be a driving force in Nashville SC’s ownership group as we move our vision forward, which is to provide professional soccer to the region’s passionate fans. Nashville SC has grown from the grassroots, and now John’s commitment speaks volumes about the future of soccer in Nashville and helps Nashville SC grow while unifying soccer interests in our city.”

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Ingram's Ingram Industries Inc. operates Ingram Marine Group, one of the largest barge operations in the country, and Ingram Content Group, which provides services in the book publishing industry. The holding company took in $2.3 billion in revenue last year, according to Forbes. Ingram is also one of Nashville's top philanthropic leaders.

Ingram formally submitted Nashville's MLS expansion application in January.

Last month, Ingram and Nashville businessman Bill Hagerty — a fellow Nashville soccer booster who is President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Japan — met with MLS commissioner Don Garber to discuss Nashville's MLS bid.

MLS is expected to announce the first wave of two expansion cities this year.

A dozen cities, including Nashville, are in play for MLS. Others are San Antonio, San Diego, Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati Raleigh/Durham, N.C., Charlotte, N.C., Sacramento, Calif., Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., Phoenix and Indianapolis.

Tops on the to-do list for Nashville's group: secure a financing plan from Mayor Megan Barry's administration for a new soccer stadium at Nashville's Metro-owned fairgrounds. Barry has said she wants to bring MLS soccer to the fairgrounds, but she's not gone into details about financing, only saying the goal is a "private-public partnership."

Nashville SC will play in the USL, which is one tier below MLS. The team last month announced the hiring of Gary Smith, who led the Colorado Rapids to the 2010 MLS Cup championship, as its head coach.

It is still unclear where Nashville SC will play its home games. The team's PDL club, Nashville SC U23, has announced it will play at Vanderbilt Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

This summer will be a busy one on the soccer front in Nashville. Nissan Stadium is playing host to a U.S.national soccer team CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Panama on July 8 and later an English Premier League match between powers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Manchester City F.C on July 29.

It comes after Nashville has hosted a string of well-attended international friendly matches in recent years. The most recent, a match between Mexico and New Zealand in October, drew 40,287 fans.

“Nashville has arrived as a soccer city," Ingram said. "Our USL team is preparing for its inaugural season, we are hosting two world-class matches this summer and the city is firmly in the hunt to win an MLS expansion team. Music City is Soccer City."

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