The MLS season has been suspended until further notice. However, the construction of the league’s newest venues is ongoing. Construction and planning of brand new soccer-specific stadiums in Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville and Miami is forging ahead amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, US Soccer Players reports.
Furthest along in the process is the future home of FC Cincinnati. The stadium, located in the city’s West End neighborhood, is due to open before the start of the 2021 season and not seeking any type of delay in its building, which could potentially extend the team’s wait time to move in. In the meantime, FC Cincy will carry out the remainder of the 2020 season at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium, when the time comes for play to resume.
Columbus Crew SC is not far behind their in-state rival. Construction of their new stadium is set to be completed by next summer, though like FC Cincinnati, that timeline could be derailed with any potential delay due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, things are moving slower in Nashville and Miami, both of which are eyeing new venues in the near future. Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre and Nashville Mayor John Cooper have been publicly feuding over the construction of a new soccer stadium. They only recently came to an agreement and as a result began the process to build a 30,000-seat soccer stadium at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
Nashville’s fellow MLS newcomer Inter Miami CF is in a similar boat of mapping out a permanent home. The club, owned by David Beckham and Jorge Mas, is temporarily calling a Fort Lauderdale facility their home – though they’ve yet to play a game there. MLS Commissioner Don Garber has pressured Inter Miami to move venues in a timely fashion, perhaps giving Beckham and Mas a limited window to find a location and begin construction.
Soon-to-be expansion teams in Austin, St. Louis and Sacramento are also in the process of cementing their venue plans upon their arrivals in the league. Meanwhile, a Charlotte MLS squad will enter the fray next year and share Bank of America Stadium with the Carolina Panthers.