Major League Soccer expansion is headed to the Music City. On Wednesday, Major League Soccer officials announced that Nashville, Tennessee has been awarded an MLS expansion franchise.
The event was held at the Country Music Hall of Fame, with MLS Commissioner Don Garber in attendance, as well as the Nashville mayor and state governor.
Nashville has a strong soccer community with a club joining USL in 2018, and the city hosted the CONCACAF Gold Cup match this past summer between the United States men's national team and Panama, which ended 1-1. But now, it gets its dream. Here's the announcement video:
Details on the club's name, debut season, colors, logo and more will be announced at a later date.
"Nashville is a rising city with a passionate soccer fan base, a dedicated ownership group and civic leaders that truly believe in this sport," said Garber in a statement. "Nashville continues its ascent as one of America's most dynamic communities, with its incredible energy and creativity. For us, that makes it a perfect place for MLS expansion. John Ingram and his partners had a plan to bring MLS to Nashville during the last year and they executed it at every level. Thanks to their vision, the soccer fans of Tennessee will soon have their own MLS club and a state-of-the-art soccer stadium that undoubtedly will be a centerpiece of the community."
As for that stadium, according to SI, the plan is to build a 27,500-seat venue, at the Fairgrounds Nashville, which is expected to cost $250 million.
MLS had two expansion spots up for grabs, with Nashville, Sacramento, Detroit and Cincinnati in the running, and one of the spots now seems filled.
The decision to award Nashville a team came after the Dec. 14 meeting of the MLS Board of Governors, where talks were held with each ownership group. The main points of focus when looking for a new city are ownership, stadium and financial situation.
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