by The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) has announced their partnership with Music City Baseball (MCB). This business relationship will include revenue sharing and cooperation between marketing and social media efforts. Music City Baseball has agreed to work in good faith to provide physical space in the permanent stadium facility, once constructed, for the prospective MLB team.
Music City Baseball is a group dedicated to securing a Major League Baseball franchise in Nashville. The group consists of business and community leaders who believe the time is right to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville.
Nashville’s Major League Baseball team would be named the Nashville Stars, in honor of several Negro league baseball teams that played games in Nashville in the 1940s. The team name also ties into Nashville as home to numerous music industry and athletic stars.
“This partnership allows us to share our baseball history. The story of the Nashville Stars of the Negro Leagues is as much a civil rights story as a baseball story. The players had no idea they were making history. They just wanted to play ball. The NLBM endorses and supports the efforts of Music City Baseball to secure a Major League Baseball franchise,” said Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“Music City Baseball is excited about our partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The Museum will play a pivotal role in our initiative, and we believe this partnership will solidify our efforts moving forward,” said John Loar, Managing Director of Music City Baseball.
Music City Baseball has granted a license to the NLBM to continue to use the name “Nashville Stars” that includes historical references, photos, and other artifacts of the teams that played in the Negro Leagues under the name “Nashville Stars” and in connection with NLBM educational programming and exhibits.
“The Negro Leagues has played an important role in baseball’s past, and I look forward to being a part of that legacy as it lives on through the Nashville Stars,” said Dave Stewart, who serves as an advisor for Music City Baseball.
“I join the many others in celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Negro Leagues. We look forward to tying Nashville’s rich baseball history with its bright baseball future. We believe Nashville is ready for Major League Baseball,” said Chairman Alberto Gonzales.
In the video below, Kendrick discusses why now is the right time for Major League Baseball to expand, why Nashville would be the prime location, and how impactful it would be for the Negro Leagues Museum.
