Nashville became one step closer to scoring a major league soccer team, but a new lawsuit over the proposed stadium could sink those plans.
The group "Save our Fairgrounds" filed a lawsuit Wednesday.
In 1911, Davidson County purchased the Fairgrounds property and later purchased some surrounding property.
The city bought the land more than 100 years ago with the intent of hosting a fair.
The group says giving this land up does not benefit people in the community like fairgoers nor local vendors.
Save our Fairgrounds president Duane Dominy said filing a lawsuitseemed to be the last resort.
The suit says the city is ignoring the fact that the Fair Board is required to "conduct an annual State Fair at least six days."
The board plans to lease at least ten acres for the stadium to the Metro Sports Authority to be used should Nashville land a soccer team.
"What the current administration is proposing with their soccer stadium and the 10 acre giveaway to billionaires is to giveaway that land that their suppose to generate revenue for the ongoing operation of a fair and there's no revenue coming back to the fairgrounds," Dominy said.
Wednesday's lawsuit comes hours after it was announced Nashville has been named one of four finalist cities for the next two Major League Soccer expansion teams.
Part of the lawsuit claims the Fair Board is giving up its rights to generate revenues outside the stadium and giving it to the Sports Authority.
In the past, Mayor Megan Berry's office says Flea Market vendors would have new and better facilities but Dominy asked where would the vendors go during the construction phase.
"If they've already loss their business when they get a nice building it doesn't matter. If they've been homeless for a year they may not make it through the winter," he said.
Dominy is not against having a soccer stadium, he claims the city is giving away millions of dollars in land with no immediate benefit to the Fair Board.
