Members, Owners React To USL Nashville FC Announcement

At Bridgestone Arena, the quiet of the continuously growing crowd was interrupted by the boisterous “Roadies”,  led by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. After the raucous introduction, Barry, USL President Jake Edwards, and Nashville FC ownership group members David Dill, Chris Redhage, and Marcus Whitney took the stage and made remarks about the addition of the Music City to the United Soccer League.

It was announced that the supporter-owned club Nashville FC had overwhelmingly voted in support of a brand purchase by DMD Soccer in exchange for a 1 percent equity stake in the USL team and a voting seat on the board of the USL franchise. In addition, the founder of Nashville FC, Chris Jones, was named as the first employee of the new club by Redhage. Upon his introduction, Jones concluded his statement with the simple message to all the fans who had been involved with Nashville FC, “We did it.”

“Honestly, because of the non-profit model, we thought it would take us roughly two or three years to be up and running at the NPSL level,” Jones added. “Everything about Nashville FC has far exceeded our expectations. [Being the first employee] is kind of surreal and it happened very quickly. I just found out a couple of days ago, and it’s been a really quick process. But that’s in line with how we’ve always operated.”

“I feel like [today’s announcement] means big things are coming to Nashville,” said Nashville FC member Connor Nashville FC RoadiesUlrey. “Over the past three years, the team has really grown and people have really loved this team. To see such a fast-growing organization like USL bring a team to Nashville and it be Nashvile FC, I think it’s the most exciting thing.”

Now that the new USL franchise has a name and an identity, the next step is to put together a front office staff, coaching staff, and establish a new home ground. Due to the USL’s rules, Nashville FC has to build a new home ground somewhere in Nashville.

“We’re going to have to build a front office,” Redhage explained. “How do we build a professional soccer organization that is of Nashville? One of the reasons we chose the USL is because they require soccer-specific stadium. We’re excited to make those announcements in the coming months. When we have a soccer-specific stadium that will be one of the best in the country and the best in the USL, it’s going to be great.”

“Everything is about the foundation you build, and Nashville FC was built on the foundation of community,” expressed Whitney. “Everybody was here and everybody was excited. We had a great run at [the NPSL] level, but I’m excited about bringing out really, really big crowds, about seeing the Roadies multiply, and about creating one of the most competitive soccer cultures in this country. I’m excited about Nashville building a culture that rivals the best soccer cultures in this country. This is lightning fast…to move from a completely grassroots to a professional organization in three years is unheard of. Nashville should be incredibly proud.”

In the coming months, announcements will be made regarding stadiums, uniforms, and the potential of playing next season as Nashville FC. Until then, sports fans will have to suffice with the guarantee that the Music City will have another professional sports franchise in 20 months.