NASHVILLE – Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre knows the importance of home.
During his tenure as CEO of Liverpool FC, he oversaw the expansion and renovation of the club’s longtime home ground Anfield. Now, as the chief executive of Nashville SC, Ayre is helping to oversee the construction of the club’s stadium. That project took a big step forward on Friday with the installation of the first steel beam at the site.
Ayre knows how important a home stadium is to a club’s identity and culture.
“When I ultimately in the future look back at what we did here, this will be one of the biggest pieces,” Ayre said. “I feel humble and grateful to have had any part in being able to create this because it isn’t about what we do now and when we play in the first game next year. It’s about building the spiritual home for the club for the rest of its life, and that’s an incredible thing to be a part of. Nothing can top that.”
The club went through a long and arduous process to get stadium construction underway. But despite those challenges and the roadblocks raised by COVID-19, stadium construction is moving along at a strong pace and is expected to be completed in May 2022.
Ayre says that Friday’s ceremony represents a huge milestone in this process for both the club and for Nashville as a whole.
“I think we take the positives from the negatives, and certainly today feels like a very positive day for all our fans, for our players, our staff, and everyone connected and for the city,” he said. “To see this incredible project that’ll be a huge addition to the Nashville sporting landscape taking shape and going vertical, I think it’s a great day for the city.”
Nashville SC’s 30,000-seat stadium, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the country, is not the only infrastructure project the club is working on. Ayre also said that the club is in the design phase of its practice facility, which will be located at Century Farms in Antioch.
With a brand-new Academy facility completed at Currey Ingram Academy, plus a world-class stadium and training facility on the horizon, Ayre says the type of facilities the club is building is representative of the kind of success Nashville SC wants to have, and the impact it wants to have on the community.
“It’s a huge testament to the ownership and everyone who’s worked on it that the commitment has been there,” Ayre said. “And it’s not without significant investment, and that says something about the ambition of the club in the long term.”
Click here for more information on our stadium and how you can secure your spot in 2022. Become a 2021 season ticket member by Feb. 10 to secure both First String Founding MLS Member benefits and priority access to seats at our new stadium.
