Despite not being considered a major sports market in the United States, Nashville does have a decent presence in the professional arena. The Tennessee Titans of the NFL and the Nashville Predators of the NHL are both popular draws for locals. One report even showed that Nashville experienced the highest amount of economic growth last year out of any city in the country. With a promising outlook comes some discussion from city officials that it might be a good idea for the city to bring its first women’s professional sports team into the fold.
Report: Nashville has the most economic growth in the U.S. https://t.co/1Nd6oCmfey
— WKRN News 2 (@WKRN) August 8, 2021
“When you look back to when the Titans and the Predators came to the region, there were 1.4 million people,” said Bryan Slater of CAA Icon, a firm that manages stadium development. There are 2.2 million people now in the area…that’s part of the reason for so much optimism around supporting a new team.” Via Tennessean.com
Last summer, it seemed like the city garnered interest from four major women’s professional leagues, including the WNBA(basketball), NWSL(soccer), NWHL(hockey) and the National Pro Fastpitch Softball League. City councilwoman Nancy VanReece believed that it did not matter what sport was brought to Nashville, but that the signal for progress it would convey would be very important.
“It is time to invest in professional women’s sports. It’s long past time,” she said. “I think that, particularly as we move forward to the 50th anniversary of Title IX, it’s even more appropriate we begin discussions with the public.” Via TennesseeLookout.com
At the beginning of the new year, it appears as if those efforts have centralized around women’s soccer and the NWSL. The city is building a soccer-only stadium which is supposed to be the largest of its kind in the country. The thinking is that if the city builds the infrastructure, the league, and a potential majority owner, would be very much inclined to jump in with both feet.
The difference between Soccer - Basketball as a preference was not that vast. A lot of folks that took the survey were soccer fans. Anyway -- We need BOTH to come to Nashville. Please stop pitting one sport vs another sport. @justwsports @Tennessean https://t.co/IGODklbU4b pic.twitter.com/IELKQrBQKW
— Nancy VanReece (@NancyVanReece) January 14, 2022
“If you build it, they will come. The interest is there,” said Emmett Wynn, Sports Authority(Nashville) board member. Via Tennessean.com
According to polls, only 14% of Nashville residents would oppose the addition of a women’s professional sports team. It seems like more of a question of when, and not if, the city will finalize this arrangement.
