Geodis Park

• 1. Introduction

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  Geodis Park is a 30,109-seat, soccer-specific stadium built at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee. It is home to Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. The stadium opened on the 1st of May 2022, when Nashville SC hosted the Philadelphia Union in its first match. Before it carried its current name, the project went by two others during construction: Nashville SC Stadium, then Nashville Fairgrounds Stadium. Those name changes were the least dramatic part of getting the building built. What began as a modest construction estimate grew by tens of millions of dollars before a single wall went up. A small parcel of land nearly stalled the entire deal. Lawsuits challenged whether the stadium had any right to rise on fairgrounds soil at all. Once finished, the building did far more than host soccer. It became one of twelve venues for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. It also became a stage for touring musicians from across the country.

• 2. A Ballooning Budget

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  In December 2016, planners projected the stadium would cost $275 million to build. Businessman John Ingram, a billionaire backer of the project, was expected to pay $25 million up front. He would then contribute $9 million a year for 30 years. That money was meant to help retire Metro's $13 million annual debt on the $225 bond issuance. The city set aside another $40 million to renovate the surrounding Fairgrounds. As part of the public-private deal, Mayor Megan Barry made a separate promise. She pledged developers, including Ingram, 10 acres of city-owned fairgrounds land. That land was earmarked for a mixed-use development next to the stadium.

  The Metropolitan Council approved $25 million toward the project in 2018. In February 2019, Mayor David Briley's office added another $5 million on its own. That money came from a 2017 contingency fund, without a council vote. Together, the public contribution reached $37.6 million. That same month, the original builder, Ely Concrete, abandoned the project. TRC Construction Services took over construction in its place. Costs kept climbing anyway. By August 2019, estimates had risen to between $325 million and $345 million. That was between $50 million and $70 million above the original numbers. Ingram and other investors, not taxpayers, were expected to cover the increase.

  Nashville SC had originally planned to start playing in the stadium in 2020. By 2019, that opening date had slipped to 2022. But even after the budget stabilized, one more fight remained before construction could begin: a dispute over a single parcel of land.

• 3. The Fight Over Parcel 8C

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  On the 13th of February 2020, Mayor John Cooper and the club's lead owner, John R. Ingram, signed an amended deal that let construction begin. Under the new terms, Nashville SC agreed to fund 100 percent of the stadium's construction costs on the Fairgrounds site. The team would cover this through lease payments, cash investments, and revenue collected from stadium event attendees. Nashville SC also committed to paying for infrastructure in the immediate area, estimated at $19 million. The team agreed to pay $35 million in lease payments. Altogether, the club committed to $54 million in additional payments beyond construction itself.

  The holdup before that date centered on a single piece of land, known as parcel 8C. The parcel measured about 2.4 acres and sat between the stadium and the Fairgrounds Speedway. Cooper wanted the team to give up this land, and Ingram pushed back in writing. Cooper laid out the stakes in a letter to Ingram. "The public space that links two 30,000-seat stadiums has the potential to become one of the most important in Nashville," he wrote. "Careful design and execution is essential to make the site work for two large public venues - supporting circulation, security, staging and access," Cooper added. That agreement turned parcel 8C into a mixed-use open plaza. The plaza would leave room for future Fairgrounds and Speedway activities.

  Demolition on the fairgrounds site began on the 16th of March 2020. On the 9th of April 2020, Ian Ayre published an open letter to fans. He wrote that demolition was "progressing steadily and in a timely fashion." Ayre added that construction documents were complete and that the stadium would be finished by mid-May 2022. On the 10th of March 2022, Geodis signed a long-term sponsorship deal with the stadium. The company's North American headquarters sit in nearby Brentwood. The agreement renamed the building Geodis Park. The financing fight and the land dispute were settled, but a different kind of opposition had already been fighting the stadium in court for years.

• 4. Fairgrounds In Court

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  In November 2017, a group called Save Our Fairgrounds sued Metro Nashville over the stadium project. The group argued that construction could disrupt the Tennessee State Fair, the Nashville Flea Market, and Fairgrounds Speedway racing activities. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle dismissed the lawsuit in December 2017. The Tennessee Court of Appeals overturned that dismissal in July 2019. The appeals court sent the case back to address the Fair Board's duties and its ability to collect taxes on fairground activities.

  A second lawsuit followed in January 2019, filed by the Tennessee State Fair Association. The association was chaired by U.S. Representative John Rose, and it sued the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. According to The Tennessean, the suit made a specific charge. It argued the stadium construction failed to "leave sufficient space and structures for the state fair, which is a protected use in the Metro Charter." The same judge, Ellen Hobbs Lyle, dismissed this suit within days. The Tennessee State Fair Association considered appealing to the state supreme court. On the 19th of February 2019, it chose instead to settle out of court, hoping for a meeting with the Metropolitan Council.

  By July 2019, workers were already building an exposition center for the state fair on the same grounds. By the 23rd of August, that fair was expected to run from the 6th to the 15th of September, held "in the old fairgrounds space." Not everyone accepted the demolition happening around it. On the 2nd of August 2019, council member Steve Glover introduced a resolution to stop the demolition of fairgrounds buildings. The council voted it down on the 21st of August. The fairgrounds kept its fair even as demolition crews cleared ground nearby for the stadium taking shape beside it.

• 5. Inside The Stadium

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  Architecture firm Populous, based in Kansas City, designed Geodis Park. The firm had already designed venues for other Major League Soccer clubs. The finished building seats 30,000 people. That makes it the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States or Canada. The stadium includes six lounges and two dozen box suites. A dedicated entry gate on the north side serves the supporters group.

  Getting to a match means navigating one of 11 official parking lots around the Fairgrounds. Each lot requires a pre-paid pass. Several lots are paved, while others are surfaced with gravel or grass. The stadium also has a dedicated ride-hailing lot. The WeGo Public Transit system runs two bus stops near Geodis Park. WeGo does not add special late night service for matches. Not everything that filled those parking lots and bus stops would be wearing soccer cleats.

• 6. Sold Out Nights

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  On the 7th of June 2023, Shania Twain's Queen of Me Tour played the first concert ever held at Geodis Park. Kelsea Ballerini and Breland opened the show. Every one of the 27,707 available tickets sold, and the night grossed $3,606,876.

  On the 26th of August 2023, Guns N' Roses brought their 2023 Tour to the stadium, with Carrie Underwood opening. That show also sold out, 23,594 of 23,594 tickets, grossing $3,484,912.

  On the 22nd of September 2023, P!nk's Summer Carnival tour filled all 28,382 seats. Brandi Carlile, Grouplove, and KidCutUp opened for her, and the night brought in $5,906,419, the highest gross of the three.

  Green Day brought the Saviors Tour to the stadium on the 30th of August 2024, with the Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and the Linda Lindas opening. Tyler Childers brought his On the Road tour to the stadium for two nights, the 10th and the 11th of October 2025. Charley Crockett and Cory Branan opened both shows.

  Concerts brought Nashville crowds together for country, rock, and pop. A different kind of crowd was still to come, drawn by international soccer instead of a headlining act.

• 7. A World Stage

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  On the 20th of June 2025, Los Angeles FC lost 0-1 to Espérance de Tunis in a Group D match, drawing 13,651 spectators. On the 24th of June 2025, Auckland City and Boca Juniors drew 1-1 in Group C play, with 16,899 in attendance. On the 26th of June 2025, Al-Hilal beat CF Pachuca 2-0 in a Group H match watched by 14,147 fans. These three matches made up Geodis Park's slate of games in the Club World Cup.

  On the 17th of October 2023, a men's exhibition match at Geodis Park ended 4-0, drawing 18,468 spectators. On the 10th of June 2025, another finished 0-4 in front of 20,602 fans. On the 9th of September 2025, a third ended 2-2, drawing 27,604, the largest of the three crowds. Women's matches drew crowds too. On the 19th of February 2023, the stadium hosted 2023 SheBelieves Cup games that drew 25,471 and 6,502 spectators. On the 27th of October 2024, a women's friendly finished 3-1, watched by 17,018 fans. On the 1st of March 2026, the stadium is scheduled to host two 2026 SheBelieves Cup matches, each expecting 17,125 spectators.

  A club friendly between Liverpool and Sunderland is scheduled for the 25th of July 2026, though no attendance figures have been reported yet. Geodis Park is one of six venues outside Los Angeles chosen to host soccer at the 2028 Summer Olympics. Nine matches are scheduled to be played there.