Nashville's MLS chances boosted by big soccer crowd

(Follow link for full article.)

 http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2016/10/08/nashvilles-mls-usl-mexico-big-soccer-crowd/91673554/

Nashville's MLS chances boosted by big soccer crowd

John Glennon  11:20 p.m. CDT October 8, 2016

That enthusiasm appears to reflect Nashville’s growing appetite for soccer, one that has already led the USL to award Music City an expansion franchise – Nashville SC – that is scheduled to begin play in 2018, assuming a soccer-specific stadium is in place by then.

The next goal is to secure rights to an expansion franchise in the MLS, which is the top rung of club soccer in the U.S. – two steps above the USL.

“Today is a great step to bring MLS to Nashville,” said the head of Nashville’s MLS Organizing Committee, Bill Hagerty, who watched Saturday’s contest from a suite with mayor Megan Barry and MLS representatives among others.

“We’re thrilled with the crowd. The energy here and around the stadium all day has been just outstanding. What we’re seeing on the field is great. Sitting here with MLS officials, they could not be more thrilled with the showing Nashville has made to support soccer.”

The MLS currently has 20 clubs and plans to expand to 22 in 2017 with the addition of teams in Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul. A second franchise in Los Angeles and a likely Miami franchise would bring the number to a stated goal of 24 teams by the end of 2020.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has outlined plans to expand to 28 teams after 2020, which is the window Nashville is looking toward.

Saturday’s big crowd came about 15 months after the U.S. men’s national team drew a state record 44,825 to Nissan for a 4-0 win over Guatemala, and just seven months after the U.S. women drew their biggest crowd of 2016 – 25,363 – to Nissan as part of a soccer doubleheader.