Nashville SC: New stadium caught in lawsuit mud

A lingering lawsuit casts a shadow over the new 30,000-seat Nashville SC stadium. Demolition of the current site is ongoing, but legal troubles still abound.

A lingering lawsuit casts a shadow over the new 30,000-seat Nashville SC stadium. It is hoped the team will the stadium sometime during the 2022 MLS season, but those hopes have been cast into doubt with the recent legal uncertainties.

The embattled new stadium for Nashville SC had survived a lawsuit from the Tennessee State Fair Association. Mayor John Cooper met with all parties involved and expressed issues regarding further delayed construction. The stadium project was delayed but by February 13 it had leaped all those hurdles and was back on track.

Then, before the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions started wrecking sports and other public events, demolition directors at the Nashville fairgrounds site for the stadium found asbestos.

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Most of these construction delays have now passed, too. Yet a lingering lawsuit from the Save Our Fairgounds coalition set for trial June 4 casts a grim shadow over the stadium project. The coalition filed an injunction in early March to stop demolition for the project. Save Our Fairgrounds argued that the demolition phase of the project removes 22 acres from the heart of the fairgrounds, impacting open space and parking.

Denying the injunction, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle said delays cost the Nashville Metro government $6,500 a day. She added that some of the buildings aren’t even being used and allowed the demolition of the sheds and other old structures which started on March 16.

Nashville SC expressed relief that some phase of the stadium project could resume, even with this legal Sword of Damocles over their heads. The coalition maintains that a 2011 referendum to protect the fairgrounds, flea market and motorsports on an adjacent racetrack is infringed upon by the activity. But more significantly, the accusations detail that the Metro government ignores its own charter by proceeding with this project without a public referendum.

The coronavirus pandemic caused the cancellation of the flea market and suspension of the MLS soccer season. But that’s temporary. Long-term damage to the project could come from years of litigation over this new stadium. The Save Our Fairgrounds coalition appears like a weak opponent, arguing for the preservation of old buildings against rich and powerful entities in the forms of Nashville SC ownership and the Nashville Metro government.

But while a judge denied the injunction, their lawsuit was allowed to continue including the challenge that the Metro government has violated its charter. Should the pro-stadium entities prevail through possible years of lawsuit deliberations, it will be time-consuming and costly.

As usual with MLS expansion teams, when the lawyers get unleashed, all the parties make things way, way harder than necessary. But the coalition — the entity with the old buildings — remains ready to wrestle, and it will cost the MLS team and the government a lot more than it costs the coalition.

So the pro-stadium group needs to get smart, find out the cell number of the coalition’s attorney, and ask exactly what the organization wants in lieu of forcing a referendum years in the future.

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Maybe the only way out is a costly referendum that could be held once pandemic restrictions can be called off. But maybe sending in an inexpensive change order for a new flea market shed on the property and a respectful proclamation of appreciation for the Save Our Fairgrounds coalition will be enough.

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