Today, the backers of a new professional soccer team in Nashville have announced their new name: Nashville FC. That is, conveniently, already the name of the existing amateur team that plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL).
The new team will play in the United Soccer League (USL), which is a higher level than the NPSL, but still two levels below Major League Soccer. The existing Nashville FC will be folded into the new professional team.
You can watch today’s announcement at Bridgestone Arena:
Watch on #Periscope: It has been revealed! Nashville FC #USL2MusicCity https://t.co/SRExEL5VCI
— USL Nashville (@USLNashville18) July 1, 2016
The new team is set to start play in 2018, but there’s still an impediment: they don’t have a stadium. By decree of the USL, they have to have a stadium built with soccer in mind. Or, as The Tennessean’s Joey Garrision wrote,
In accordance with USL rules, the new Nashville FC needs to find a “soccer-specific” stadium. That mandate likely rules out First Tennessee Park, home of the minor league baseball Nashville Sounds, as an option. Greer Stadium, Nashville’s former baseball home, is in disrepair and has been recommended for demolition by the city’s parks director.
They’re hoping to build something in Davidson County in time for the 2018 season, but Williamson County hasn’t been ruled out.
Earlier: Nashville Football Club gets going