Football
Soccer

Nashville SC

Nashville SC players celebrate together after scoring in an MLS Cup playoff play-in game against Inter Miami CF. Credit: Matthew Maxey/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press

The days of playing in the lower USL are in the past, as the brand new Nashville team will be looking to make an impact in MLS.

MLS expanded by two teams ahead of the 2020 season and one of those was Nashville SC. The 2020 campaign was their first in Major League Soccer, but not their first in existence as a team with the same name played in the USL before moving up to MLS.

The original Nashville SC purchased the name, logo and colour scheme from an amateur team called Nashville FC. John Ingram purchased majority ownership in the Nashville team in March 2017. A month later, Gary Smith was hired as the first manager and technical director in Nashville. Over the summer of 2017, they added Mark, Zygi and Leonard Wilf as investors. The Wilfs own the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Mark is on the Board of Trustees at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, as is Ingram.

The ownership group announced plans for a $275million soccer-specific stadium in October 2017 and this was approved by the city a month later. In December 2017, Nashville was awarded an MLS expansion team before the side had even played a game in the USL.

Heading into MLS play, the team changed their badge from a circular crest to an octagonal one. The electric gold and acoustic blue colours remained, but the N was moved to the top of the crest and constrained by vertical blue bars. The bars represent sound waves and vibrations, playing off Nashville's vibrant musical history.

For their two years in the USL, the team played at First Tennessee Park (now First Horizon Park), home of Minor League Baseball's Nashville Sounds. For the 2020 and 2021 seasons in MLS, they moved to the Nissan Stadium, the downtown home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. Their new stadium for the 2022 campaign will be at the Nashville Fairgrounds and is expected to seat 27,500 fans.

Nashville SC's USL era

Nashville SC's MLS era

Nashville SC's rivals

Nashville SC's top players

Nashville SC News