Stars Share Vision For MLB In Nashville

Courtesy Of Curb College Instagram

Belmont students were welcomed back after spring break by a panel of organization members within the Nashville Stars, the group attempting to bring a Major League Baseball team to Nashville. 

MLB has not been shy in its intentions to increase the number of teams from 30 to 32, and it is the Stars’ mission to present Nashville as an attractive option for one of those expansion teams. 

“The Nashville Stars have been working to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville for a number of years. Now, we’re starting to move forward where Major League Baseball is starting to look toward expansion, and all the hard work we’ve done over the years is going to pay off,” said Stars’ Director of Communications, Chris Bacon. 

Bacon, who led the panel, was joined by director of marketing Will General, Bryan Ruby and Adam Doleac. 

One of the main focuses of the panel was the relationship between sports and music, which Ruby and Doleac embodied as former athletes turned musicians.  

Ruby played baseball internationally across seven different countries and domestically in the Independent League.  

Doleac played in the College World Series with Southern Mississippi University before being drafted by the Chicago White Sox. 

After hanging up their cleats, both men entered the world of country music. They both discussed certain aspects of their playing careers that bled over into show business. 

“I hear the word ‘no’ every single day, but it doesn’t stop me,” said Doleac. “I think that’s just the attitude that being a baseball player and an athlete gave me, and it’s served me really well.” 

Ruby expanded upon what success looks like in both baseball and music. 

“In baseball, if you get a hit three out of 10 times, you’re in the Hall of Fame. But you failed seven out of 10 times. In songwriting, it gets a lot worse,” said Ruby. “If maybe one of your 100 songs is a hit, then you’re great, and you can have a career.” 

The hand-in-hand nature of sports and music is one of the Stars’ main selling points to MLB to put a team in Nashville, and, as a result, much of the panel was focused on the other entertainment options available at possible Stars games. 

Part of that is providing something for both the bachelorette parties on Broadway and people with kids looking for family-friendly opportunities, said General. 

“A Coke and a hot dog is for everybody. I try to think about what that fan experience is, and tie that between the really good baseball that we’re going to have on the field with the amazing experience you’ll have on a night out at a Nashville Stars game,” said General. 

That experience has surpassed the four walls of the stadium, said General. Instead, he mentioned Truist Park in Atlanta as a model for how the organization is thinking about including entertainment options in the area surrounding the venue. 

The use of the word venue was very deliberate because the Stars’ stadium would “be a baseball stadium only 81 nights out of the year,” according to General.  

On those other nights, the venue could host a myriad of other attractions, as the stadium is planned to seat somewhere between the number of seats in Bridgestone Arena and Nissan Stadium.  

The Stars are currently working with the city, state and investors to create a proposal for the prospective stadium. Despite not having a set location, the organization has partnered with the Lincoln Property Company to spearhead the project. 

Then, the conversation shifted toward how the organization is trying to establish a brand for a team that does not yet exist.   One of the main ways the organization is trying to do that is the name itself: the Stars. 

The Stars’ name comes from the Negro Leagues, and if adopted, will become the first organization to adopt the name of a former Negro League team. 

Part of the Stars’ social media identity is telling the stories of Negro League teams and educating the baseball world on a part of baseball history not many fans know much about, said General. 

Additionally, the Stars reference the stars and stripes of the American flag and the country music stars that help make Nashville Music City. 

“We want to show to Major League Baseball and to our fans here in Nashville that we’re building something with true roots, tied to who we are as Nashvillians and as baseball fans, and building something that hopefully all of you can be proud of,” said General. 

On the merchandising front, that goal appears to be working, as the organization has consistently sold out of Stars hats across all 50 states and 10 countries. 

The last few minutes of the panel were dedicated to an audience Q&A, where an audience member asked about Nashville’s other baseball team, the Nashville Sounds, which is the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. 

“If they didn’t have the draw they did, I don’t know if we could be looked at as a serious baseball city. It’s their success and the history here that’s really shown Nashville is a baseball spot,” said Bacon. 

Whether the Stars will actually become a major league team is still undecided, but with MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire at the end of this year, there is a chance that Major League Baseball may be coming to Nashville soon. 

  Written by Sam Dicus