Nashville fair board approve MLS stadium ground lease at fairgrounds

Joey Garrison | The Tennessean

The Nashville Board of Fair Commissioners on Tuesday approved a ground lease that would allow property at the city's fairgrounds to be used for a new Major League Soccer stadium, checking off one more box needed for the city to sign off on the project.

The 30-year agreement, approved by a 4-0 vote, is between the fair board and the Nashville Sports Authority and leases the authority land to build the stadium for a nominal $10 a year.

The sports authority is now slated to consider four separate agreements on Thursday before the Metro Council takes up four votes related to the stadium later this summer, where the project still faces questions.

"This project ensures long-term viability at the fairgrounds," fair board member Bonna Johnson said. "It's a significant investment that we wouldn't otherwise see. And I think it strongly protects the current uses of the property."

Details of the lease

The ground lease, which wouldn't go through if the other actions are't approved, makes the sports authority responsible for the construction of the stadium that would be leased to an MLS ownership group led by billionaire businessman John Ingram.

The city — which has committed to keep existing uses such as auto racing and flea markets at the fairgrounds — would have the rights to use the stadium for 20 rent-free events, separate from those traditional fairgrounds events. There are several prohibited uses, including anything that qualifies as a nuisance.

The agreement approved Tuesday is subject to the board finalizing a separate ground lease with the team for a 10-acre private development that is still the subject of negotiations between city attorneys and the MLS team. That lease must also be approved by the fair board along with a stadium operation agreement that is still being drafted.

Stadium critics: Lease terms are 'unconscionable'

Many longtime fairgrounds advocates continue to criticize the stadium project. Shane Smiley, chairman of the the Nashville Flea Market Vendors Association, told fair board members that the $10 rent fee is "unconscionable."

"Every other person on this property who has helped sustain this property for decades pays more than $10 for every event that they do," Smiley said. "This 30-year lease means the sports authority will be paying the fair board $300 for three decades.

"You're really showing who's important to you."

George Gruhn, owner of Gruhn Guitars and an outspoken fairgrounds backer, said the city did not perform a study before deciding on the fairgrounds to build the stadium.

“I’m not opposed to MLS in Nashville, but I’m very much opposed to the destruction of the fairgrounds, and I view the plans that have been formulated as exactly that.”

But Johnson, of the fair board, pointed out that the project calls for $50 million in city-city-funded improvements, including infrastructure upgrades, at the fairgrounds.

'Some people don't like change'

Board chairman Ned Horton said the overhaul would attract visitors who have never set foot on the fairgrounds and activate what is currently empty parking lots and aging buildings. He said longtime fairgrounds staples like flea markets would be getting new facilities that would complement new park space and recreational soccer fields already under construction on the site.

"There's going to be other new people, the citizens of the area, that haven't been coming here because we haven't had events that call their name," Horton said. "There's going to be new events here."

"Some people don't like change," Horton said. "But some people will be very excited about the change."

The council voted 31-6 in November to approve $225 million in revenue bonds for the stadium — but the transaction is contingent on clearing remaining hurdles, including the stadium lease, a property rezoning and plan to demolish existing buildings.

Even though Nashville was awarded an MLS expansion franchise in December, the stadium is not a sure thing to clear the council, particularly given Metro's recent budget crunch that put a spotlight on the city's rising debt.

In perhaps a sign of some hesitance, the council's Budget and Finance Committee voted 4-2 Monday night to recommend approval of a resolution sponsored by Councilman Steve Glover that would express the council's intent to suspend the stadium project. The action was non-binding, and so is the resolution.

Stadium would open in 2021

The team is expected to begin play at a temporary location in 2020, likely Nissan Stadium, before the new soccer-specific stadium would open in 2021.

Originally pushed by former Mayor Megan Barry, the stadium now falls under newly elected Mayor David Briley, who has committed to see the project through.

Votes that await the council this summer are: an ordinance to demolish existing buildings at the fairgrounds; a plan to rezone the property to accommodate a mixed-use development next to the stadium; a ground lease for the private development; and $50 million in general obligation bonds for infrastructure improvements at the fairgrounds and to rebuild the fairgrounds facilities at a different location on site.

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

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