Nashville Judge Dismisses MLS, Fairgrounds Lawsuit

NASHVILLE, TN -- A Nashville chancellor cleared the way for Metro's plans to build a Major League Soccer stadium at the Fairgrounds, dismissing a longshot lawsuit Monday.

In late November, fairgrounds supporters filed a request for an injunction, saying that plans for the stadium would interfere with existing fairgrounds activities protected by a Metro Charter amendment.

Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, however, ruled that public statements by Mayor Megan Barry demonstrated Metro's commitment to continuing the protected events such as the flea market and that the charter amendment does not limit activities at the property, allowing for other uses in addition to those which existed when voters approved the amendment in 2011 in one of then-Mayor Karl Dean's biggest political setbacks.

Lyle wrote that actions by boards and commissions which are not final and binding are not subject to judicial review. Though the Metro Council overwhelmingly approved the funding mechanism for the stadium, the MLS has yet to actually award Nashville an expansion franchise and thus other steps - such as votes to demolish certain buildings - are still to come.

Save Our Fairgrounds' attorney Jim Roberts told The Tennessean Lyle's ruling was not unexpected but that the group will refile the suit.

"Metro has only announced its intention to violate the Metro charter and hasn't actually done anything substantial yet to violate the law," he told the paper. "We're going to just wait for Metro to cross the line and we're going to sue them again."

Nashville is one of four finalists - along with Sacramento, Cincinnati and Detroit - for the expansion franchise; the league is expected to announce its decision soon.

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