In November 2017, the Metro
Council voted overwhelmingly (31-6) in support of a plan for the soccer-specific stadium at Nashville's fairgrounds. It agreed to finance the deal to the tune of $275 million in bonds -- $225 million
in revenue improvement bonds to build the stadium and the $50 million in general obligation bonds.
To repay the bonds, the MLS group will pay $9 million a year over 30 years. Sales tax
revenue from stadium events and the ticket tax will go toward covering the remaining $4 million a year in debt.
Wavering
support. There was concern that the MLS project had lost momentum after Mayor Megan Barry, who championed the stadium deal in 2017, resigned in March, after admitting to having an
affair with the police officer who headed her security detail and pleading guilty to charges of felony theft tied to the affair.
In August, the Budget and Finance Committee rejected key aspects of the deal. The vote wasn't binding but reflected
significant opposition within the Metro Council.
Turning point. The turning point in the lead-up to Tuesday's vote came when
the Nashville MLS group worked out a community benefits agreement -- covering, among other things, pay for those working on the project, contracts for minority- or women-owned companies and affordable
housing on the fairgrounds development -- with key community stakeholders, winning over several undecided member of the Metro Council.
Separately, Save Our Fairgrounds, which is opposed
to private development that will interfere with other activities at the fairgrounds, sued the Metro Council for the second time. The first suit was thrown out last year, on the eve of MLS's decision
to award a team to Nashville, on the grounds that it hadn’t demonstrated any harm or injury -- in essence, it was premature.