NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After more than a week of closed-door meetings and a missed deadline, both the Mayor's Office and Nashville SC reached out to the public about the stadium at the Fairgrounds.
Mayor Cooper write an Op-Ed that was published in the Tennessean Sunday morning titled, "I want a stadium deal that works for everyone."
"Nashville is very much open for business, and we are in the business of stewarding taxpayer dollars and public assets. A mayor should negotiate for the whole city and be a voice for every resident," the article started, continuing to say, "We need a financially sustainable path forward for soccer that enhances and preserves the historical uses of the fairgrounds."
While the article written by Cooper went deeper into the issues, Nashville SC leadership said that many of the things he pointed out as problems have already been resolved, and hours after the piece was released, Nashville Soccer Holdings launched BuildTheStadium.com.
The website says on the front page, "Mayor John Cooper refuses to allow construction to go forward – putting at risk Nashville’s team and more broadly tarnishing Nashville’s reputation and going against his own promises."
The site also shows a clip from Inside Politics where the Mayor voiced his initial support for the soccer stadium, then continues to outline facts about the deal that is ready to go, and asks fans to sign a petition and reach out to the Mayor's Office to let Cooper know that they believe construction could begin immediately.
As of the publishing of this article, about 24 hours after the website was created, there had already been more than 4,000 signatures on the petition.
Nashville SC's CEO Ian Ayre released the following statement about BuildTheStadium.com and the situation surrounding the soccer stadium.
“While we continue to talk with Mayor Cooper and his team, the soccer stadium remains at an impasse. We are hopeful there will be resolution soon but, in the meantime, we are getting calls from fans and community leaders who are frustrated and want to be heard. That’s why we launched BuildTheStadium.com. The fact is, soccer enjoys a huge fan base in Nashville. And for many, the stadium plan represented big investments in parts of the community who have felt left out of the past successes of the city. These Nashvillians deserve to be heard.”
The Mayor's Office also released a statement about BuildTheStadium.com and progress surrounding the soccer stadium.
Considering the positive progress of the negotiations with Nashville Soccer Holdings, we’re unsure of the purpose of the petition and surrounding campaign other than to unnecessarily confuse Nashville residents. To reiterate, Metro’s commitment to the stadium deal has never been in question. Mayor Cooper remains committed to soccer’s success in Nashville. We look forward to announcing an agreement with Nashville Soccer Holdings.
The Fair Board is scheduled to meet Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. to discuss the soccer stadium and racing at the Fairgrounds. NewsChannel 5 will be there and there will be a stream of the meeting on NewsChannel5.com.
