I agree with all of what you said redzfan. And as for the mid-state, you also have to factor in that 10 years from now the population will have grown immensely, so that would be a perfect time. Or, if i win the TN lottery we can have one by 2009-2010.
Don't forget the population grown in Huntsville and North Alabama. Lots of DC and Cali transfer in due to BRAC and all the aerospace companies.
After attending the game the the Honduras/US game yesterday at LP Field on Easter Sunday, I can safely say there's definitely enough folks in the Nashville area to make the MLS big ups take notice. Sure, some of those folks came from out of town, but most of them were locals. To get over 12,000 people for a soccer game on a holiday with not so great weather is nothing sneeze at.
However, 12k isn't nearly enough to base a regular, game every other weekend or so expansion on. Granted, this wasn't a full nats, and the youth nats usually don't draw as well as the full nats. So maybe it's a wash. The reality is, MLS is looking at top media markets now. According to this list, Nashville is 30. Ahead of KC, Columbus and Salt Lake City, which have teams, so you do have an argument based on that. But MLS has pretty much honed in on the top markets (NY2, Miami, Atlanta... and St. Louis, because of Cooper), so I don't think it's likely Nashville would get in. Still, you find a deep-pocketed ownership group and a stadium, and y'all could be one of those surprise dark horses. Unlike other cities that people have posted support of (Portland, New Orleans, OKC, for example) Nashville doesn't seem entirely out of the question to me. Except for those pesky issues of ownership and stadium. For purely selfish reasons, though, I'd like to see Nashville shoot for USL-1. MLS is stable. Now we need a stable USL-1.
Which is why anything on the subject of Nashville MLS is idle speculation. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, except it will attract nasty, dismissive or belittling "rivalry" comments from the more zealous advocates of expansion to other cities, who consider themselves first in line. Without a superwealthy investor, NO city is a contender for MLS. The stadium plan is demonstrably secondary, as Seattle proved. If local billionaires like Martha Ingram, the Frists, or Brad Kelley were convinced that they should spend money on MLS, Nashville would be at the top of the expansion list. But there aren't the structural factors in place that would lead non-local potential investors to see an unfulfilled demand for top-level professional soccer in Nashville as opposed to several other places in the US. As far as I'm concerned I'm going to make more effort to go to the local PDL team games, and I think that because of the great turnout over the weekend, Nashville has cinched a US World Cup qualifier at LP Field this cycle.
Another plus for Nashville is that MLS desires a presence in the South. Atlanta is the likely first choice (especially if Blank decides that he wants a team), but its a very saturated sports market and lacks a grass roots effort (ala Philly) pushing for a team. Even the Silverbacks with a nice facility only get moderate support. That being said Atlanta would likely be a good MLS market, but there just does not seem to be a real drive for a team at the moment. That really opens the door for a city like Nashville. They could easily pull a Salt Lake and appear out of nowhere. A 18,000-20,000 seat soccer stadium by the river would definitely be a nice addition to the city. Note: I believe the Chicago Sting considered relocating to Nashville in the early 80s.
If we're wishing, and there's nothing wrong with that, the old Thermal Transfer Plant site, on 11 acres between the Shelby Street Bridge and Gateway Bridge right on the river, would be an ideal location for a soccer stadium. The Nashville Sounds were demanding a huge taxpayer subsidy to build a stadium there, but no one really gave a damn about minor league baseball, and there's talk of making an outdoor amphitheater... and of course, MLS teams have been greatly involved in combination music venue/soccer stadiums. But there is no way in hell that there will be any public money for it. At best, there might be a sweetheart deal to lease the land, but the city is facing a big budget deficit and any sort of tourist tax is earmarked for the half-billion dollar convention center south of Broadway. And MLS teams have been all about obtaining significant public financing for stadiums. Now maybe the fact that it's going to be very difficult in the present economy to make a compelling argument for sports subsidies will lead MLS to rethink its approach. But anyhow I'd give Nashville a 1 in a 1000 chance of an MLS team in the next ten years. Still it's fun to dream.
Sounds good [pun intended]. Would Nashville support USL1/USL2 level soccer? I know the Metros gave it a go at the highest USL level many years back despite operating on a shoe string budget. It would seem to me that a well financed venture could do well similar to what the Railhawks did in Cary (however, the 'Hawks did have the luxury of playing in a stellar stadium). There's a lot of potential in Nashville -- however, the main limiting factor seems to be finding a suitable stadium.
When Steven Parker owned the Metros they seemed to be turning the corner towards success. I don't know why he pulled out of the league, but I think he was fairly wealthy.
I know the point is moot, but I still can't help but speculate. I'm not concerned with "jumping the line" in perspective places for MLS. I'm concerned with seeing what kind of opinions are out there (which are good ones and I appreciate them). I have often wondered what the "other side" thinks of Nashville/and TN as a soccer market. When you want something so badly you tend to overlook a lot of things. There is some valuable information to be gathered from this thread from those of us who want a team here. For example: If this thread weren't started, I wouldn't know who to petition/harass for their millions! So who is going to knock on some doors with me?
As for the Metros, now would be a good time to reach out to the community. The tournament is fresh in people's mind so everyone has the "bug." Invest in some radio commercials, get on 104.5 for 10 seconds, hand out some schedules, advertise in the newspaper, the Nasvhille Scene, Big Soccer, everywhere they can. I don't read the papers, but the Tennessean couldn't hurt. I know when and where the games are, but the mass majority don't even know they exist, let alone where to look for the game times. Am I wrong here, or do they advertise?
The Metros had a table set up outside the Sam's Army section at LP Field the other day, and Thursday night, Devinder Sandhu was schmoozing with fans and handing out schedules. On their budget, they can't do a lot more.
Budget is a definite problem... I thought I saw them but I got there late. It wasn't my intention to smear, I just wanted to know what else they were doing to spread the word. That being said, I wouldn't mind handing a few schedules out myself in good ol' Clarksville or here in Murfreesboro. Here's the schedule this season: May 2008 Sat May 10 7:30 pmNashville Metros at Carolina Dynamo Macpherson Stadium Sun May 11 3:00 pmNashville Metros at Cary RailHawks U23's Wake Med Soccer Park Wed May 21 8:00 pmBradenton Academics at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Sat May 24 8:00 pmPalm Beach Pumas at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Tue May 27 5:00 pmNashville Metros at Atlanta Silverbacks U23's RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium Sat May 31 7:00 pmNashville Metros at Central Florida Kraze Seminole Soccer Complex June 2008 Sun Jun 1 3:00 pmNashville Metros at Panama City Pirates Gavlak Stadium Sat Jun 7 8:00 pmCarolina Dynamo at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Thu Jun 12 4:00 pmNashville Metros at Atlanta Silverbacks U23's RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium Sat Jun 14 8:00 pmAtlanta Silverbacks U23's at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Fri Jun 27 8:00 pmCary RailHawks U23's at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Sat Jun 28 8:00 pmCary RailHawks U23's at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium July 2008 Sat Jul 5 8:00 pmAtlanta Silverbacks U23's at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Sat Jul 12 8:00 pmCarolina Dynamo at Nashville Metros Ezell Park Stadium Fri Jul 18 7:30 pmNashville Metros at Carolina Dynamo Macpherson Stadium Sat Jul 19 7:30 pmNashville Metros at Cary RailHawks U23's Wake Med Soccer Park
Great jerseys, BTW! Lets see some more jersey, logo ideas. Keep them coming! As for the Metros, (I'm pretty sure) their reason for falling out of USL1 to PDL had more to do with facilities and infrastructure rather than desire. No press box or other amenities you might find at a nicer USL1 stadium. On another note, I always thought the Metros briefly used and former name Tennessee Rhythm was creative. Definitely owes itself to the states musical roots but also sounds good for a soccer team that keeps a good passing tempo. It might not fit MLS but it's less generic than Metros.
Chicago was supposed to be the Rhythm and Peter Wilt axed it before taking place. Rhythm sounds more like WNBA team to me.
God I hated that Tennessee Rhythm name! But since Lynn and Devinder had just saved the club from extinction in 1999, I guess I can't complain. At least they got the old name back in 2001. The Metros have tried just about every trick in the book over the past two decades to draw attention and nothing has particularly worked. People always point to marketing, but that takes money and the club is run on a shoestring budget, as I imagine most PDL clubs are. Ezell Park is a dump and that doesn't help matters. If someone (the Metros, Nashville government or whomever) would develop the new Metro Soccer Park next to the Dell campus into something that could be used for the Metros and other events, that could improve things. I don't think that will happen anytime soon, though. At this point, I'd settle for a few more wins. It's been a little pathetic lately.