CENTRIA Scores with “Uniquely Nashville” Soccer Stadium

Custom-Designed GEODIS Park Becomes Home to Nashville MLS

 One of Major League Soccer’s newest expansion teams, Nashville Soccer Club needed a place to call home when they began the league competition in 2020. Geodis Park, formerly known as Nashville SC Stadium and Nashville Fairgrounds Stadium, is the largest soccer stadium in the United States, seating over 30,000 fans.

The new stadium needed to be “uniquely Nashville”, reflecting the long-standing history of the industrial neighborhood. That meant tying in an aesthetic design that would match the city’s strong identity. A 360-degree canopy, 65-foot-wide shared concourse, and a natural grass playing field created a vibrant atmosphere for matches and events.

“We knew pretty early on that we were going to need a cost-effective cladding solution and the exposed fastener with corrugated metal panels to play into the industrial aesthetic,” said Chris Melander, architect at Hastings Architecture. “A cladding material that had the timeless quality – that could come out at a price point that we could support – was important in our choice.”

The stadium was designed with a unique rectangular perimeter, requiring cladding that was cost–effective and able to meet the custom design requirements. Designers chose CENTRIA panels for use along the press level, southside, and rooftop.                                   

The Perfect Fit

CENTRIA’s Exposed Fastener BR5-36 panels were installed in Rich Black along the press level and southside of the stadium. Exposed Fastener panels can be installed in a variety of rainscreen applications, forming a complete wall system. The flexibility and negative wind load properties matched with the solution’s thermal performance made exposed fastener panels the ideal choice for this outdoor stadium.

“The corrugated metal was a thread that we wanted to hold an established datum across the whole building, with open back masonry walls, and structural tubes,” said Melander. “Everything needed to look continuous and aligned from building to building, so the placement of speakers, windows, and card readers were coordinated very carefully.”

To compliment the corrugated profile around the press level, the project team selected Concept Series single skin rainscreen panels to line the perimeter of the roof. Crews installed CS-220 panels in Rich Black, which created the unique finishing touch sought by the design team. 

Concept Series single skin wall panels feature concealed fasteners and a common-lock joint that allow the panels to integrate with each other with an unbroken appearance. The panel clips are designed to allow for thermal and seismic movements.  

Opening Day

Crews broke ground on Geodis Park in July 2020. Panel installation began in July 2021. The venue opened in May 2022.