Under the deal, the MLS club would pay Nashville $200,000 annually over 30 yearsHOK
Nashville's MLS owners would be "obligated to pay the city at least $200,000 annually over 30 years" to lease land at the fairgrounds for a private mixed-use development next to a new stadium "under a deal proposed by Mayor David Briley," according to a front-page piece by Joey Garrison of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Parameters for a "ground lease" for the expansion club to lease 10 acres of public land for the development had "previously been undisclosed." Under the proposed deal, the club would "pay the city 'a minimum' of $200,000 annually," which would total at least $6M over 30 years. The team would still "collect all parking revenue generated by MLS games." But the new ground lease proposal "calls for the team to now split proceeds from non-soccer events at the stadium with the fairgrounds." This portion would "offset the team's rent payment to the city." Mayor Briley's Communications Dir Michael Cass said that if the amount of the fairgrounds' portion of revenue is "more than $200,000, then the fairgrounds will get that larger amount instead of the base rent" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 7/31).
