Nashville fairgrounds park construction site hit with repeated vandalism, tampering

The construction site of a future park, trails and recreational soccer fields at The Fairgrounds Nashville has faced vandalism and tampering on multiple occasions, according to the construction management team leading the project.

And the chairman of the Metro Board of Fair Commissioners, Ned Horton, doesn't believe they are random acts. He said an individual, or individuals, opposed to new activities at the city-owned fairgrounds appear to be behind the incidents.

Jonathon Schneider of CommonWealth Development Group, a Metro contractor leading the ongoing $6 million park addition at the fairgrounds, was asked about the tampering at Tuesday's fair board meeting.

He said construction crews have found water pumps turned off, or "revved all the way up" so they would run dry.

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In addition, he said vandals ripped the ignition out of a utility task vehicle, or "UTV," working on the site.

This past week, he said workers found a chain that had been cut after operational hours near the Bransford Avenue entrance, suggesting someone had broken onto the site. Workers have been instructed to inspect their equipment as a result.

"We've had a couple of incidents like that," Schnedier said. "We did have someone come on to the site. We don't know why."

The alleged tampering is the latest in the increasingly volatile nature of the debate over the future of the 117-acre site.

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Metro is eyeing a completion in December on the new fairgrounds park, which will include eight multiuse soccer fields, a 1.3-mile greenway, a dog park and other amenities. It is set for the underutilized, flood-prone part of the fairgrounds on the site’s south end that is flanked by Brown’s Creek. Work began last year.

The soccer fields will be made of fiber-reinforced turf, allowing it to also be used for temporary parking.

Its construction comes as Mayor David Briley’s administration seeks to complete the final hurdles needed for the construction of a $275 million Major League Soccer stadium at the fairground site. The fair board approved a new fairgrounds site plan for the MLS stadium Tuesday.

Some of the city's most outspoken fairgrounds advocates continued to oppose the addition of the MLS stadium, which would be flanked by a 10-acre mixed-use private development operated by owners of the city's recently awarded MLS expansion franchise.

Horton, the fair board chairman, said he thinks cameras needs to be deployed on site to catch whoever is behind the tampering.

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"It certainly seems like it's somebody who is trying to mess with the activities," Horton said. "It's not like they're taking something they're going to use. They're trying to give them a hard time or make their life difficult when they show up.

"It's meant to annoy and impede."

After getting support from the fair board Tuesday, the MLS stadium proposal now faces votes in the Metro Council this summer for rezoning to allow the private development and to demolish dilapidated buildings from the site. Under the plan, fairgrounds event facilities and expo centers would be rebuilt on a different portion of the property.

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