To meet a tight deadline, an extra $5 million has been granted to a Nashville fairgrounds project that will clear the way for a new MLS stadium.
A new soccer-specific stadium will be constructed at The Fairgrounds Nashville to accommodate a Nashville MLS expansion club, part of a $275 million project that includes 10 acres of adjacent mixed-use development. The new Nashville MLS home is slated to be built on the site of existing fairgrounds structures, which need to be replaced with new expo buildings elsewhere in the complex before being demolished to make way for the stadium.
The new expo center is slated to complete by the end of June and, in order to keep the project on that schedule, the administration of mayor David Briley has authorized an additional $5 million for construction. The extra $5 million, which will come from a contingency fund, is part of the push to finish the project on a tight schedule. More from the Tennessean:
The Metro Council approved $25 million for the fairgrounds project in 2018, and another $12 million was earmarked for fairground upgrades in 2017.
The extra $5 million from the city didn’t need approval from Metro Council because it is drawing from a 2017 contingency fund.
“Contingency funds are routinely budgeted in capital spending plans and allocated to projects that require additional resources as they are needed,” Briley spokesman Thomas Mulgrew said in a statement to the Tennessean.
“It was the administration’s decision to allocate $5 million of contingency funds to ensure that the Expo Center had updated facilities to meet its needs. We are committed to seeing that this project is completed on time,” Mulgrew said.
Nashville’s new MLS stadium is slated to open in 2021. The expansion club will begin MLS competition in 2020, and play home matches that season at Nissan Stadium–the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
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