MLS expansion club Nashville SC and Mayor John Cooper "reached a new agreement" today on the city's soccer stadium, allowing the stalled project to "move forward after a months-long deadlock." Cooper will "'immediately' green light demolition at Fairgrounds Nashville, a step he has held off on approving since October." The 2.4 acres closest to the Fairgrounds Speedway racetrack, which had been "at the center of the impasse, will remain as part of a 10-acre mixed-use development that's part of the stadium project." In the new deal, both parties have "agreed to a set of principles regarding how the space will be designed to account for an 'open plaza' that highlights multiple operations at the fairgrounds."
To accommodate Cooper's demands, the club will pay $54M more in "potential expenses," which includes $19M in infrastructure and $35M for stadium "debt payments the city was previously on the hook for if sales and ticket revenues came up short." The city will issue $225M in bonds for the stadium and pay $25M for "stadium-related infrastructure as part of the original deal." Meanwhile, the club will "pay for all overrun costs on the stadium," which is now estimated to cost $335M in total (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/13).
