I grew up going to the Nashville Fairgrounds for various events. Whether it was the monthly Nashville Flea Market, car shows my folks would drag me to, the Tennessee State Fair, or some good old fashioned pro wrasslin’ – it was like a mecca of entertainment to a young Stoney. I knew when we went to the fairgrounds, that we were in for a special night. To this day, you can say “Nashville fairgrounds” to a wrestling fan and watch their face glow. Some of the industry’s greatest have come through the curtain in that building.
But, like many parts of the city, the Nashville Fairgrounds are beginning to give way to gentrification, and the ever-increasing expansion of downtown – “New Nashville,” if you will, is spreading like wildfire. The folks at the Nashville Fairgrounds, and some of their most staunch supporters, fought like hell to preserve the site, but ultimately, New Nashville won, just as it always does. A massive soccer stadium is being built on the premises, and I’d imagine it’s only a matter of time before that area becomes the latest trendy hood in town.
My fiancé and I decided to head out to the Nashville Flea Market a couple of weeks ago at this point. One of my major goals for 2021 was to get SoBros Network back out in the public somewhere to set up a table and sell our stuff – the t-shirts, and the Nerd Shop inventory. I considered the Nashville Flea Market an ideal location to do so – it’s outdoors, it has a nice brand name in town, and it’s usually got quite a bit of foot traffic. So, I thought it’d be a good place to try it out. It was a blast – I came away with about 10 new comics, and a Kenny Omega action figure. I enjoyed telling Aura about all my childhood memories at the fairgrounds. It was my first time seeing the new layout at this stage in its construction.
Seeing the frame of the massive soccer stadium that will eventually house our MLS home team, Nashville SC, atop the hill really brought the vision of this space to mind. I could see it – bright lights, passionate crowds. In a weird way, it made me think that instead of taking away from Nashville’s history at the fairgrounds, this could potentially add to it. There’s a strong legacy of sports on that hill, so to me, it only makes sense to keep that legacy going. Some folks aren’t too enthused about it, and usually, I’m on the side of “let’s change less about the city.” But, in this case, I have to say I’m leaning “for it.”
The stadium looks like it’ll be state of the art, I love the vendor area that they’re hosting the flea market at, and there’s still room to honor some of Nashville’s history at the site. I’m curious to see how they tackle gentrifying the area, because it’s not the best part of town. But, as a guy who usually plays the part of the jaded Nashvillian shaking his fist at the concept of expansion quite well, I’m actually in on the renovation down at one of Old Nashville’s major landmarks.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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