Joey Garrison

jgarrison@tennessean.com

Nashville Soccer Club, the city’s new United Soccer League franchise, has hired the team's first chief executive officer, a key front office decision as the organization prepares to begin play in 2018. Court Jeske, who previously worked as vice president of international business for Soccer United Marketing, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, is the team’s pick to fill the its top leadership role.

Jeske, who currently is based in New York, helped organize this month's Mexico vs. New Zealand soccer match at Nissan Stadium. It drew more than 40,000 fans, the second largest crowd to watch a soccer game in Tennessee.

Jeske, a native of Oklahoma who has 16 years of experience working in professional sports, including eight with MLS, said he was introduced to the Nashville SC ownership group and others in Nashville’s soccer community while working on the Mexico match.

“I had the chance to see the community spirit that they had and the opportunity that soccer has in Nashville and in Middle Tennessee,” he said. “From that, I thought it was an incredible opportunity to build something exciting for the city and something that every Nashvillian can be proud of.”

Jeske, 38, plans to start work in Nashville next month. He called Nashville “a young, multicultural dynamic city” that has “all the perfect ingredients to be a world-class soccer city.” He said those dynamics were on display during the recent Mexico match.

Ahead of the 2018 season, Jeske is tasked with forming a management staff, hiring a technical director to bring in a coach and continuing season ticket sales. There’s also the matter of securing a stadium where Nashville SC will play. The team has talked with Mayor Megan Barry’s administration about stadium possibilities but the team has not publicly discussed options.

“The No. 1 goal is to get the word out, make sure that people in Nashville and Middle Tennessee understand what we are doing and be a part of the community,” Jeske said.

During his time at MLS, Jeske worked on international events involving CONCACAF, the Mexican National Team, the U.S. National Team and elite clubs from Europe. He also has worked with all 20 MLS clubs to support their growth in each local market.

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“Court brings unrivaled knowledge and experience working with professional soccer clubs and national teams across Europe and the Americas,” David Dill, president of LifePoint and one of three co-owners of Nashville SC, said in a statement. “His entrepreneurial spirit meshes perfectly with our city and club. He is exactly the right person to build Nashville SC into a spirit.”

The USL is the third highest league in North America’s professional soccer pyramid. MLS is the highest.

As Nashville SC prepares to begin USL play, a group of Nashville business heavyweights led by former Tennessee Economic and Community Development commissioner Bill Hagerty is working to get a future MLS expansion team in Nashville. MLS commissioner Don Garber has outlined plans to expand to 28 teams. The league currently has 20 teams.

Dill, of the Nashville SC ownership group called DMD Soccer, last month joined the Nashville MLS Organizing Committee in a statement of support of the long-term goal of bringing MLS to Nashville.

Hagerty has said he envisions DMD Soccer probably becoming a part of Nashville's MLS ownership group if Nashville is awarded an MLS team. He has called the USL's Nashville SC team “a natural affiliate” of a future MLS team.

“What I know about this process is we have to show that we can be a soccer city to be considered,” Jeske said. “And therefore we need to do what we can at Nashville SC to support that cause.

“There’s some great examples of some other markets that have proved very successful at the USL level as a precursor to being successful with MLS,” he said. “You look at Seattle, Portland, Orlando. They all grew into MLS and that is the opportunity we have here.”

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