Vanderbilt Surveys Fans about MLS Stadium Partnership

NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt is asking its fans via a survey if they would attend football games at a "hypothetical stadium" shared with a Major League Soccer franchise.

Nashville is among 12 cities being considered for four MLS expansion franchises, and Mayor Megan Barry has proposed a "private-public partnership" for a new soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville.

Vanderbilt is polling undergraduates, season-ticket holders, single-game ticket buyers and other selected participants in a survey to "determine interest in holding some future athletics events in a new (MLS) stadium," including football games, according to a university news release.

The survey was launched Tuesday and will close May 5. It was emailed directly to selected participants.

"It is designed to gauge how much demand there is for a hypothetical new stadium and game day and fan experience factors that will make fans more or less likely to attend games there," the release said.

The Vanderbilt release said the university was approached by the MLS steering committee about its interest to use a new stadium for athletic events. Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams is one of the 22 members of that steering committee. And John R. Ingram, a member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust, is the lead investor in Nashville's proposal for an MLS team.

Last September, Williams told The Tennessean that talks had accelerated for a new Vanderbilt football stadium, but he initially preferred it to be on campus.

"Off campus? You never say never, so we'll look at it," Williams said in September. "But there are sports that seem to play on campus better, and football is one of those."

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