Nashville SC promotes CEO Ian Ayre, appoints managing director for MLS Next Pro team
One familiar face and an urban development specialist in Alabama will oversee Nashville SC's MLS Next Pro team in Huntsville.
Nashville chief executive Ian Ayre is adding president of Nashville MLS Next Pro to his list of titles and the club has hired former Downtown Huntsville, Inc. CEO Chad Emerson will be its managing director of business operations.
The duo will oversee the reserve team that will debut in 2023 as part of Major League Soccer's expanded development league, becoming the middle link between its youth academy arm, MLS Next and MLS. Nashville announced in July it elected to house its Next Pro team in Huntsville, where it will play its home games at the renovated Joe Davis Stadium.
"Huntsville's really excited about getting their team. It's really an international city," Emerson said. "There's people from all over the country, all over the world that are moving there, so they're very familiar with soccer. And then the beautiful new stadium. Put all of those together, it's going to be something we really hope sets the bar for MLS Next Pro."
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The Huntsville Next Pro team won't play in its affiliated MLS home market, like the rest of the league. It also won't look like its parent club either. Nashville is creating a unique model in northern Alabama, planning to sign a core of Huntsville players, surrounded by players throughout its roster pipeline.
"It will be its own team, with its own identity and its own colors," Ayre said. "We'll recruit heavily just for that initially and then we'll top that roster — the roster is 25 (players), so the top will be players from our roster who need minutes or are coming back from injuries and then at the bottom, the academy. That creates a natural flow."
Nashville SC at Joe Davis Stadium
Ayre said that Nashville will control operations at Joe Davis Stadium, a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat venue originally built in 1985 as the home of a minor-league baseball team, the Huntsville Stars. The Stars moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, in 2014 and the stadium will reopen in May after a 14-month, $27.4 million renovation.
Nashville signed a 10-year lease in July. According to AL.com, Nashville will pay $500,000 in rent next year. That will gradually rise to $1.25 million in years eight through 10. Joe Davis Stadium will also host high school football, lacrosse, soccer and sports clinics on site.
"For a lot of teams, it's just a cost line," Ayre said. "But we see it as a genuine revenue and business opportunity."
New team, new colors in plans
The Huntsville Next Pro team will feature its own colors, mascot and identity — another key distinction from the rest of the league. MLS Next Pro clubs like FC Cincinnati and Orlando City SC field teams under the same name, adding "II" or "B" to signify its affiliation. Not Nashville.
The new identity will represent Huntsville and Nashville. When asked how, Ayre said that the club is discussing visually representing the two markets by placing the club's recognizable "N" logo on the back collar of the Huntsville jersey.
"For a Huntsville supporter comes to the Nashville, he's in a different jersey, but he's seen as part of the family," Ayre said.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC promotes Ian Ayre to MLS Next Pro president for Huntsville
