NASHVILLE, TN – Nashville SC hosted local media at their new Fairgrounds stadium in the first-ever media tour of the new facilities. Set to open in May 2022, the 30,000 seat stadium will be the largest soccer-specific arena in the United States and Canada.
Ashley Clark, Mortenson | Messer’s Project Manager, told media that all the foundations, plumbing and underground electrical work is complete. The lower seating bowl is beginning to take shape, with over 350,000 cubic yards of soil already removed from the site.
CEO Ian Ayre told Broadway Sports that the structure for the south end is practically finished, with the bones of the dressing rooms and other team facilities complete, and the pre-cast concrete for the upper seating bowl nearly done. The canopy over the south end will start going up in mid May, and by July the roof should be completed around the stadium.
Carter said that the structural steel will be finalized in the next few months, with the seating structure shortly behind. Once that is complete, the crew will begin installing stadiums lights, speakers, and the 30,000 seats. The natural grass playing field, which is already being grown in Georgia, will follow.
On the west side of the stadium, the structure above the concrete seating mold is being built out. The three-story structure will hold three club areas, 27 seats, and a press area stretching half the length of the field. Elsewhere, masonry and framing have already begun inside the locker room and concession areas. The brick and metal facade will wrap around the entirety of the outside, making the entire area weather tight.
“It’s probably been the most disappointing part of the last 12 months to today that we haven’t been able to bring people here,” said Ayre. “We haven’t been able to bring fans here, and until today we weren’t able to bring the media here. We had our first steel erection, which we did virtually. We broke ground quietly. And so it’s so fantastic to get this point today.”
Ayre concluded with the unveiling of a new banner in the stadium, featuring the Nashville SC logo and the names of all 2021 season ticket holders.
“We really want to bring our supporters and our fans to this stadium as soon as possible,” he said. “Let’s start at least by putting their names here and doing more of that as we go forward. It’s going to be an exciting and a unique venue, and we wanted to start that today.”
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