A unique crossover between MLS and the National Hockey League exists in Nashville SC's ownership group.
The Eastern Conference team announced last year that Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg joined as a part-owner, bringing one of the city's most beloved athletes into the fold. The 29-year-old is the all-time leading scorer for the Predators and has set up long-term roots in the city.
"I was so excited when I first heard that they were coming, just a team, because they were playing in the [USL Championship], obviously, here in town, and they played at the baseball stadium," Forsberg explained during a recent interview on Offside with Taylor Twellman. "Obviously, it was not the same production that we put on now at GEODIS [Park]. You heard the rumblings in the background of, 'This is a startup. MLS is going to try to make it here.'
" ... Once that happened, I was keeping a very close eye on it," he added. "Once, two years ago, when we extended our contract here to stay for eight more years, we were approached by John Ingram and the team and asked if we had any interest. We never looked back. That was a pretty easy decision."
Forsberg's decision occurred just a few months before Nashville's run to the 2023 Leagues Cup final, where they went up against Inter Miami CF and the game's best-ever player in Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
Although Nashville fell in penalty kicks, Forsberg described the atmosphere as "electric" at GEODIS Park – Nashville's state-of-the-art soccer-specific stadium that has fast become one of the league's most imposing home venues.
"Dream scenario," Forsberg said. "All of a sudden, tickets that were 50 bucks, maybe, for these games, they're into thousands everywhere. Everyone's calling me like, 'Can you get me tickets?' I'm like, 'No, I'm trying to get tickets myself!'"
Forsberg isn't the only celebrity owner who's latched on with the club. Along with the NHL star's announced introduction last year, he was joined by NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in a group that already included renowned actress Reese Witherspoon and former Tennessee Titans superstar running back Derrick Henry (currently of the Baltimore Ravens).
As a longtime Nashville resident, Forsberg said it's all part of the pronounced growth soccer has experienced both locally and nationally.
"This is soccer now, all of a sudden, because this is basically how people felt in '17 when they see all these people at [Predators] games," Forsberg told Twellman. "Now, everything has worked out for a reason."
