From the Nashville Post comes this article. Thanks to a recent $60,000 sponsorship deal, the Nashville Metros of the PDL are set to upgrade their current facilities to meet USL Pro standards. Their current goal is to be in USL Pro within 1-2 years. For those that don't know, the Nashville Metros use to play in the A-League (2nd division) from 1997-2001 before dropping down two divisions to the PDL. With an upgraded facility, the Metros are very feasible for the 3rd division. Nashville fits the profile of other current USL Pro cities and is within similar travel distance to most clubs.
Just looked at Ezell Park in Google Earth. Wow, it is terrible. It's a pitch carved in the middle of nowhere with stands arranged more like they were dumped there. You could definitely build something there, at least. It's about 10 driving miles from the city center, just south of the main airport.
I must have missed this one, but I'd love to see Nashville step up to USL Pro, but that's going to take a large influx of cash into the facility, more professional set up and hiring a real staff. I hope it happens, but I'm not holding my breath.
Its no worse then Real Maryland's home ground was, from Google Earth the Maryland field might look decent but trust me... total dump. Nashville played as pro at Ezell before and did O_K not great but OK. That being said, the Metros have been so bad and nearly non existant for so long now they're going to have to do ALOT of PR just to get triple figures in attendance again
I haven't been to Real Maryland, but I have been to Ezell Park. No fence, no admission, lousy field, horrible set up.... no way Maryland can be this bad unless they played in a pasture. Ezell was a nice place 10 years ago. Nashville deserves better.
Real Maryland have metal bleachers and a concrete walkway (its rented High School Stadium),but they also have a baseball field above the main bleachers where balls regularly fly into the soccer stands from behind. Some of us nearly got beaned a couple of years ago, they also have permanent football goalposts that stick out over and past the soccer cross bar at one end. I wonder what the league has to say about that? The teams have a good walk from the main field to the school gym changing rooms. Also, when they were in USL-2 they couldn't play many night games, so everything started at between 5:00 and 6:00 which in June & July is hellish (They couldn't afford to rent the lights), I don't know if that changed when they dropped into the PDL or not. Now..it IS downtown Rockville MD, with plenty of access from the beltway and Metro and the like, thats a positive over Ezell. The stadium food was fairly decent also.
Loved the getting beaned bit - that's just crazy. As for the goalposts - that was common place 15 years ago, but now, its really pretty sad. Ezell Park also has metal bleachers, and not many of them either. Food - no one around me bought any, and I wasn't going to be the first victim. Metros DJ played a song with the f-word in it repeatedly. When the fans complained "We have kids here", the DJ replied in perfect English "I don't know what that means".
Fr. Ryan is right on I-65, pretty sure its field turf with football lines, but the place looks nice. Battleground Academy in Franklin is grass, and looks like a nice place. If those wouldn't work - Murfeesboro's soccer complex has an excellent stadium and facilities.
Funny you should ask. "Ezell Park is associated with the Metros and the team does indeed have a 40-year lease with [the city]." (link) I foresee their pie-in-the-sky SSS plans taking place in Ezell. At least I think that's what they've said in the past. The linked article above also does some site speculation around Nashville too.
Used to live in Nashville and worked a couple miles from that park. Never been there or knew it existed (or that Nashville had a team). But it's not a bad spot location wise. Very easy to get to. There is a Hooters just on the other side of I-24 and used to go there after work all the time.
Google Earth has a pic from August 2011 now. Stands lined up around the field, but still look like they were just dumped there. The field is lined VERY LONG. It's 109x73m.
Had to go look, and then started looking around. The 3 (connected) buildings about 1.1 miles directly north should be Dell Computers. They've got a half dozen soccer fields just to the south of them. No idea what that is. Edit: yes it's a soccer park, but why so close to Ezell. And I'm wondering who paid for it. City or Dell.
Sorry to be a necrophiliac, but this is just so funny now, with the benefit of hindsight. This is why most rumors of expansion and (especially) of teams moving up should be taken with huge grains of salt. And why proximity to other clubs means zippo if you don't have an owner who will pay the freight.
It illustrates the stupidity of those who think that NPSL clubs have great grass roots support (usually only a fifty or so die hards in actuality) are a lock to move up to the professional ranks. $60K gets you ready for USL Pro? Hardly. There is a reason that owners choose the NPSL. They don't have the money for any of the alternatives.
While that's true, it doesn't specifically apply to Nashville, who was in the PDL, not the NPSL, not that outside of a league structure that makes you, you know, play scheduled games, there is a huge difference. Shame, because this was a longstanding club that was once in Division II. But, yeah, there is a big gap and it appears to be getting wider. Not that most fanboys seem to want to admit it.
It was more than a rumor though - it was an often stated goal of the ownership. And while the minority (founding) owners were good soccer people, the newer head guy pulling the strings let the decades old club fall apart. It's a real shame because Nashville really feels like a city with a world of potential. After seasons of little PR, effort was finally being shown such as corporate sponsorships, updating the logo/brand, and speculating where the club might put down some permanent roots to have their own small stadium. The new ugly, soulless purple logo was definitely a step back but at least they were trying. Hoping someone in the future will pick up the mantle of Tennessee Pro Soccer. (Peter Wilt!)
A goal without a plan is a wish. Like I said, it's a shame because of the long-running nature of the club. They stuck it out for many years when the landscape was rocky and now that there's much more intrinsic support for the game at lower levels than previously, they're gone. Shame.