Soccer in Nashville

[DDIG]

3 minutes ago, musiczealot said:

Am I completely off on this?

 

Isn't the budget situation almost entirely the result of the property tax re-assessment that was supposed to be budget neutral?  And then there was a rebuttal period that property owners could have their property reappraised if they thought the valuation was too high.  But when a massive amount of commercial properties were reappraised for far less, there was no balancing mechanism in place to make sure the re-appraisal was budget neutral.  It ended up collecting far less in revenue at the current property tax rate.

 

Am I missing something?

 

Why doesn't more blame go to the property assessor?

 

You are mostly right. The catch is we usually increase the property tax rate at the same time as a reassessment so that we get more revenue to keep up the growth. Mayor Barry chose NOT to do this because she was trying to pass transit, which was a major tax. 

SO transit dies and Barry is out. Then raising property taxes becomes an issue everyone wants to say they won't do in order to be elected. A simple rate correction that would probably result in about $30 a month cost in escrow to most homeowners would solve all of our budget problems.

[MLBrumby]

Lots of trust in city government was obliterated by Megan Barry, who was a weak personality. She also nearly tripled the budget of the Mayor's office.  David Briley was a weakling in every aspect (personally, professionally, politically) and too timid to take leadership on any big project. John Cooper is a weak leader who is hinging his 'success' on the passionate core of voters who believed Metro was giving 'their money' to rich companies (See loss of trust above).  I classify him as a 'weak' leader because he appears to have no interest in building bridges between those factions who believe they've been wronged... with those people perceived to be the beneficiaries of the big deals.  None of the above were in any position to propose a property tax hike, but Cooper will probably not be able to avoid it. Now the perception is that 'all that money' has gone to rich people at the expense of schools (i.e. the children). Forget how bloated MNPS administration is. Forget the difference between operating expenses and capital expenses. Forget that Nashville's news media is incapable or unwilling to explain any of this to voters. 

[jkc2j]

Not to completely derail the topic, Nashville hasn't had many great options with mayoral candidates lately. I think Coopers election says more about the general populace more so than Cooper's stance on any political issue. It seems a lot of Nashvillians want to either slow growth or stop it all together, as this nostalgia of the Nashville of yesteryear seems to be the pervasive thought (see save our fairgrounds as an example) As Nashville grows, the more progressive it'll become but it'll definitely be a work in progress. 

[Luvemtall]

I  know you all will think I'm completely crazy, but there's 1400 acres available at the Nashville super speedway site . Complete with a nascar approved racetrack, and a 4 lane interstate interchange. Mr.Ingram and NSC , can make a deal to operate both venues, build some hotels and restaurants and rake in the benefits. This place is just sitting there ready to go. Right on the Wilson/ Rutherford county lines. Two of the fastest growing counties in the MSA . Think about it, most major cities have there sporting venues outside of the core. Heck , there's even room for an amusement park/ state fair. 

[nashvylle]

15 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

I  know you all will think I'm completely crazy, but there's 1400 acres available at the Nashville super speedway site . Complete with a nascar approved racetrack, and a 4 lane interstate interchange. Mr.Ingram and NSC , can make a deal to operate both venues, build some hotels and restaurants and rake in the benefits. This place is just sitting there ready to go. Right on the Wilson/ Rutherford county lines. Two of the fastest growing counties in the MSA . Think about it, most major cities have there sporting venues outside of the core. Heck , there's even room for an amusement park/ state fair. 

too many failed examples of that working. Millenials, especially soccer fans, prefer stadiums in the city's core. 

[smeagolsfree]

This is a trust issue. If you cannot trust a man to hold to the word of the City he is Mayor of, then he does not deserve to be mayor. Those Council people heard from their constituents and voted the way they were hearing (two votes in fact), and now you have a man that comes in that was against it from the start trying to be a  bully to stop a project. 

This will throw Nashville even more into a negative spotlight on the National scene after the Berry fiasco.  The man seems to be trying to BS his way through things and I think this one is going to come back and haunt him in a big way. He may have just spent what political capital he had with the Council.

Anything they vote on, they will be afraid he tries and stops and I think he may want something really bad and the council will pretty much tell him to go jump in the Cumberland  when they are releasing sewage at the treatment plant.

I did notice that two of the three comments on the Tennessean story are older guys from Williamson County, so they have to dog in the race. Not too many young folks read the Tennessean any longer.

[MidTenn1]

I would think that River North would be a good alternate location for the soccer stadium . They might be welcomed as an awesome neighbor to help recruit other tenants while having adequate parking and access. And infrastructure may not be as costly. 

[nashvylle]

17 minutes ago, PHofKS said:

I would think that River North would be a good alternate location for the soccer stadium . They might be welcomed as an awesome neighbor to help recruit other tenants while having adequate parking and access. And infrastructure may not be as costly. 

Oracle Stadium has a nice ring to it...

[downtownresident]

This tweet shows the parcel in question. Ingram seems to be bending over backward to give proper space to the racetrack, cover the full cost of the revenue bonds, and pitch in an additional 19million in money for infrastructure. Cooper seems to be negotiating in bad faith if he is now demanding a third of the mixed use land be pulled. 

[Melrose]

9 minutes ago, downtownresident said:

This tweet shows the parcel in question. Ingram seems to be bending over backward to give proper space to the racetrack, cover the full cost of the revenue bonds, and pitch in an additional 19million in money for infrastructure. Cooper seems to be negotiating in bad faith if he is now demanding a third of the mixed use land be pulled. 

SMI already was told that they needed to stay in their footprint:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/04/16/nascar-nashville-fairgrounds-speedway-upgrades-funding/3450805002/

SMI supposedly  did make that change to their proposal after that point.   But now SMI has gone back around to Mayor Cooper to try to blow up an approved deal yet again.   This is really cynical politics, why is Cooper so desperate  to do the bidding of SMI to advance a  hypothetical racetrack project that has no funding?  

 

[downtownresident]

2 minutes ago, Melrose said:

SMI already was told that they needed to stay in their footprint:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/04/16/nascar-nashville-fairgrounds-speedway-upgrades-funding/3450805002/

SMI supposedly  did make that change to their proposal after that point.   But now SMI has gone back around to Mayor Cooper to try to blow up an approved deal yet again.   This is really cynical politics, why is Cooper so desperate  to do the bidding of SMI to advance a  hypothetical racetrack project that has no funding?  

 

For political points with the Save our Fairgrounds crowd. He doesn’t know how to coalition build, only divide. He’s alienating a good portion of the coalition that helped him win the first election. City employees and the Carol Swain supporter crowd won’t win him the next election if he faces someone who’s moderately progressive, charismatic, and business friendly. 

[MLBrumby]

This olive branch will tell us all if John Cooper really is stupid. He should accept Ingram's compromise and tell the rabid SoF folks 'I did the best I could' and claim victory. If he persists in his stubborn refusal to get the stadium built, he will most assuredly light a fuse (among what are till now fairly apolitical citizens) of discontent... as this issue alone will be the lightning rod for opposition to his administration, not to mention about a dozen council members who will seize the opportunity to take a stand against an increasingly obstinant mayor. It would be stupid to persist here because it's early in his term, and he's p!ssing off a billionaire.  This could blow up pretty fast on him, and may even affect his brother's bid for reelection to Congress. To which I say, won't someone run against him? 

 https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/nashville-sc/article/21113504/ingram-details-nashville-sc-stadium-compromise-offers

[e-dub]

I'd love to see him get primary'd.

[downtownresident]

4 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

This olive branch will tell us all if John Cooper really is stupid. He should accept Ingram's compromise and tell the rabid SoF folks 'I did the best I could' and claim victory. If he persists in his stubborn refusal to get the stadium built, he will most assuredly light a fuse (among what are till now fairly apolitical citizens) of discontent... as this issue alone will be the lightning rod for opposition to his administration, not to mention about a dozen council members who will seize the opportunity to take a stand against an increasingly obstinant mayor. It would be stupid to persist here because it's early in his term, and he's p!ssing off a billionaire.  This could blow up pretty fast on him, and may even affect his brother's bid for reelection to Congress. To which I say, won't someone run against him? 

 https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/nashville-sc/article/21113504/ingram-details-nashville-sc-stadium-compromise-offers

I believe he has primary challenger this year. 

[grilled_cheese]

They fine people $50 bucks for demolishing a historic building in the middle of the night.  How much do they fine if you build a stadium in the middle of the night?

[DDIG]

42 minutes ago, downtownresident said:

I believe he has primary challenger this year. 

He doesn’t really have serious primary challengers yet. But if they don’t come now they’ll definitely be there next election.

[titanhog]

A LETTER FROM IAN AYRE

Dear Nashville SC Fans,

As I am sure most of you are aware the huge excitement around our first Major League Soccer game has been a little dampened in recent days by issues around the progress on our planned new stadium at the Nashville Fairgrounds.

We have copied the two public letters related to this for your information. I wanted to take time to reinforce the key messages within this topic.

Soccer in MLS is not on hold! Our owners, our staff, our players, our partners and everyone connected with the club are completely committed to our kickoff on Feb. 29 and completely committed to supporting Nashville.

As you can see from the attached letters, our owners continue to be collaborative and supportive to the city and the citizens of Nashville.

As John Ingram said at the outset of this journey, we want to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville, for Nashville and for everyone in Nashville. We want to be a good citizen and a good neighbor.

Ticket sales for our first season are going very well, we have now sold over 30,000 seats for our opening game. Energy is high, and I would encourage all of you to speak to your friends, families, colleagues and communities and have everyone stand up and show up at the home opener.

Let’s show our City and the rest of Soccer that Nashville Soccer Club has arrived in Major League Soccer. We are here to stay, we are here to compete, and we deliver on our promises.

#EveryoneN

Ian Ayre
Chief Executive Officer, Nashville Soccer Club

 

[Titans10]

30,000 tickets sold is a good start. 
 

Cooper is really dumb if he doesn’t take this deal and claim victory. It would make him look good for saving the city money and getting the stadium done. 

[downtownresident]

Here is Cooper’s response:

 

 

[Titans10]

And Ingram’s response to that

 

 

[titanhog]

On the last letter from Ingram...does it’s sound like a little threat that he may take the team to another city?

[nashvylle]

2 hours ago, titanhog said:

On the last letter from Ingram...does it’s sound like a little threat that he may take the team to another city?

No, but I think he and the MLS will sue metro. 

[DDIG]

49 minutes ago, nashvylle said:

No, but I think he and the MLS will sue metro. 

Bingo. Just setting up legal arguments. Cooper has already trapped himself and agreed they’ve gone above and beyond what was agreed to. Cooper is admitting he is trying to change the deal after millions were spent on what the deal was understood to be.

[markhollin]

Nashville SC offered $54 million more for MLS stadium deal but says Mayor Cooper kept stalling.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/31/nashville-sc-offered-19-m-more-mls-stadium-deal/4623904002/?utm_source=tennessean-Daily Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero


'You are out of time': Ingram blasts Mayor Cooper on stalled MLS stadium.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/31/mls-stadium-nashville-sc-owner-john-ingram-blasts-mayor-cooper-over-stalled-plans/4628151002/ 

[nashvylle]

For $19mm I wish Cooper had said, “go purchase the TA Trucking site next to Nissan Stadium. Very little demolition needed, and is 13 acres for stadium and mixed use development. Since you will have to make some adjustments to the drawings, all real estate taxes from your development can be applied toward stadium costs. I will also make sure you get full access to parking revenue from Nissan stadium. Any other adjacent sites you purchase are under the same deal. You will get the $225MM in revenue bonds and $25mm in infrastructure costs. Go NSC.”