A letter to fans from CEO Ian Ayre
Fans,
Firstly, let me take this opportunity to thank you for your support during this whirlwind start to 2019 for Nashville Soccer Club. From the MLS brand launch and head coach announcement to the beginning of our 2019 USL Championship season and the opening of our first community mini pitch, collectively you have shown your passion for our club, and we appreciate your commitment in coming out to support us.
I wanted to update you on a few things surrounding our club.
We have been working hard to start to assemble all of the necessary components that will come together to ensure we have a first-class MLS club for our 2020 start in the league. The majority of our front office senior management team are now in place, and with the hire of Gary Smith as our head coach, many of our key senior MLS technical staff hires have been completed, which gives us an important ability to begin our work in assembling a roster for 2020.
As we continue to build for MLS, we will be moving our club offices in April to accommodate our growing staff. Our new office will be adjacent to the Fairgrounds, within walking distance of the site of our new stadium, and a city-wide search is underway for a permanent training facility site and academy facilities.
We continue to make progress on our new MLS stadium. I have found in my experience of building stadiums and facilities, it is important to design the stadium from the inside out, so that it is first and foremost fit for purpose, and it is equally important to get it done right rather than get it done quickly. Our team has taken the original outline ideas and concepts and worked with architects and our construction partner to develop the best possible soccer specific stadium for our fans. We are now approaching a highly functional design that all of Nashville can be proud of.
Given the size, scope and challenges in building what will be the largest soccer specific stadium in the U.S., we have adjusted our construction timeline such that we will begin play in our new stadium at the start of the 2022 MLS season.
We are excited about the new facility, and this new timeline does not change anything about our plan to join MLS for the 2020 season. We will play our home games at Nissan Stadium until our new home is ready.
We believe opening the 2022 season in our new stadium will be a better outcome for both our team and our fans. Moving into a new facility in the middle of the 2021 season and losing home field advantage could negatively affect our team on the field, and equally we believe this decision avoids disruption to our ticket holders midseason.
Overall this will allow more adequate time for construction, testing and commissioning of our new home.
As we continue to work toward our start in MLS, we are excited about our current team and whilst the 2019 season is only just beginning, our coach, our players and everyone at the club are excited about the journey in front of us all.
I look forward to seeing you all out at a game soon and thanks again for your continued support.
Kind regards,
Ian Ayre
