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With the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies a three-hour drive away, Nashville’s sports culture tends to revolve around American football and ice hockey.
The city is home to the Tennessee Titans and the NHL’s Nashville Predators, which Surridge enjoys watching.
“It’s very intense,” he explained after participating in several matches. “The way they play, they’re a different type of human being — these big guys who are going to crush each other.”
But, thanks to their success in the US Open Cup, Surridge says Nashville has also become a “soccer town.”
The football club – whose vice-chairman Ian Ayre was previously at Liverpool – was founded just nine years ago, and joined Major League Soccer in 2020. The purpose-built Geodis Park seats just over 30,000 fans – and a visit to Miami will be one of the most sought-after tickets this season.
“A lot of people love their sports in general,” Surridge says. “They’ll go watch the NFL, NHL hockey and soccer. They love it here. I’ve seen it grow and Lionel Messi’s influence definitely helps.”
“It’s much more appropriate in America. They want entertainment, which is great because at the end of the day that’s what we do.”
“We are lucky to have a lot of fans in our stadium, but a lot of clubs change their stadiums when Inter Miami comes. It is a big occasion for the football club.”
Surridge expects next summer’s World Cup in North America to further boost soccer’s standing in the United States, but he’s concerned about the heat — Nashville often trains at 8 a.m. before it gets too hot.
“It will be really difficult for the players to adapt to the heat,” he adds. “I saw it in the Club World Cup, where teams couldn’t even train because it was too hot and it wasn’t easy.
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to play at 3pm in the middle of the day. You get water breaks, but that doesn’t help at all.
“It’s going to be a lot slower. You don’t want to lose the ball and run around for half an hour trying to get it back in the heat.”
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