In act of rebranding, Nashville FC is changing its name to the Nashville SC, a move that was announced late last week.
Back in July, it was revealed that the planned USL expansion franchise would be named Nashville FC and run by the investor group DMD soccer. At the time, it was known that Nashville FC’s moniker conflicted with a local youth soccer group known as Nashville FC Youth. DMD investors attempted to reconcile the issue but, after going further into the process with Nashville FC Youth, found that rebranding was more feasible. More from the Tennessean:
DMD Soccer had an agreement in place this summer to purchase the assets of Nashville FC, but Chris Redhage, one of the group’s three lead investors, said they ran into intellectual property concerns because of the existence of Nashville FC Youth, which has different teams of boys and girls that compete in the nonprofit Harpeth Youth Soccer Association.
In addition to legal concerns, Redhage said the group opted for a name-change to eliminate potential confusion.
“We started to realize it didn’t have the (intellectual property) protection that we needed to be able to build the brand, both from a local standpoint but also from a national standpoint,” Redhage said. “We also wanted to make sure the name that we use really unified the city. We didn’t want the confusion that could come with a local youth team using it as well.
“Our Nashville SC brand incorporates the history of soccer in Nashville and gives us an identity that every soccer fan in Nashville can rally around for years to come,” he added.
Nashville SC is to begin play in 2018, but one major issue that remains unresolved is where the team will play. Previous indications are that Nashville SC will pursue a soccer-specific stadium in either Nashville or the outlying areas. There has also been some talk revolving around converting former ballpark Herschel Greer Stadium into a soccer facility, but the venue’s condition could be a concern.
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