Plaintiffs in a Nashville MLS stadium lawsuit filed an injunction Wednesday, with hopes of stopping related construction at The Faigrounds Nashville.
A group of plaintiffs that includes Save Our Fairgroundsand the Nashville Flea Market Vendor’s Association, among others, is part of a lawsuit seeking to prevent the construction of a new MLS stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville, contending that it violates state charter and would interfere existing uses at the complex. The suit was filed in September, and a judge recently denied a request by Nashville Metro lawyers to dismiss the case.
The Nashville MLS stadium is planned as part of a $275 million project at The Fairgrounds Nashville, and will host a MLS expansion team backed by a group led by John Ingram. It requires a deliberate planning process, as it will be built at the site of existing fairgrounds buildings. Ground was broken Thursday on an expo facility to replace those buildings, with the expo facility scheduled to open next summer and allow for the demolition of existing structures on the future stadium site.
On Wednesday, plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed an injunction asking a judge for a temporary restraining order of construction on the new expo center. Plaintiffs argued that by effectively eliminating existing parking spaces, the plans for the new expo center would harm the Nashville Flea Market. More from the Tennessean:
The motion for a temporary restraining order or injunctive relief, filed by the group Save Our Fairgrounds and signed by fairgrounds advocate Shane Smiley, argues that the closing of Walsh Road and its surrounding parking lot would “irreparably harm” the Nashville Flea Market.
“There is no way the flea market, a charter-protected existing uses, can survive with the loss of the much-needed 3,500 parking spaces Metro has closed as of Oct. 30, 2018,” the motion reads.
The injunction request is part of Save Our Fairgrounds’ latest lawsuit to stop the MLS stadium overhaul, which was filed on Sept. 4, the same day the council voted 31-8 to demolish existing building on the site.
The motion asks that the judge enters separate orders to stop Metro from closing the Walsh Road parking lot, constructing the new expo center facility until the litigation is resolved, closing access to vendors and fairgrounds attendees, and placing perimeter fencing around the construction site.
The Nashville MLS expansion bid was approved in December 2017. Currently the club is slated to begin play in the 2020 season, meaning that it will need to spend at least one season at another venue in the Nashville area before the new stadium would open.
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