Welcome to Nashville, whose new MLS stadium is the largest, and might be loudest, soccer stadium in the U.S.

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A sellout crowd of more than 30,000 people watched the grand opening of the new stadium for Nashville SC against the Philadelphia Union on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

A tremendous sense of pride filled the atmosphere as thunderous chants of "S-C" echoed throughout the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States. The fans were in a frenzy when Tommy Shaw of Styx started the festivities.

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The Music City has embraced the team since it joined the NHL and NFL in 2020. The first game at Nissan Stadium drew 59,069 fans, setting a record for the highest-attended soccer event in Tennessee.

During the inaugural season in 2020, Nashville SC last suffered a home loss. It went to the playoffs in both seasons, becoming the seventh team in Major League Soccer history to achieve that feat. The journey to Sunday's unveil of GEODIS Park -- dubbed by some fans as "the Castle" -- was a long one.

The cost of a proposed stadium for Nashville increased to $345 million after MLS announced the city as an expansion team. Despite challenges and obstacles, the stadium construction on a 10-acre site that was formerly the Nashville Fairgrounds continued to press forward. The city-owned site was demolished in March 2020.

The stadium is the spiritual home for any team, whether it is in soccer or other sport, according to Ian Ayre. It is the most important part of the infrastructure.

You made it, @SoccerMoses 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pi3AwjEwf8

— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) May 1, 2022

The club has gained enough traction in Nashville to warrant investment from local celebrities. Henry, a native of Nashville, and Jim Toth, a technology investor, became minority owners last week.

There was still a game to be played despite all the festivities. The longest home winning streak in MLS is 20 matches by Nashville SC. After being more aggressive in the first half, the hosts fell behind as Union forward Mikkel Uhre scored the first goal at the park. The crowd that was waiting to erupt at the sight of a score by the home team was boosted by Philadelphia's goal. Before the game, Randall Leal's father said that Randall would slip a penalty past the Union goalkeeper.

Leal ran to the fans after scoring and waved his hands.

Gary Smith said that the players felt the energy from the moment they walked onto the field for warm-ups. The atmosphere was great.

The game ended with exhausted players collapsing on the pitch as the final whistle blew after Nashville had a couple more chances to score.

It was an amazing atmosphere. I think the guys came out and were ready, and I think we did that, as a team, after we talked about being calm and confident before the game.

The home side knew that Sunday was a different kind of moment, and they stayed on the field after the game. They locked their arms in front of the fans and sang the anthem "Never Give Up On You" by the local band Judah and the Lion.

Home. pic.twitter.com/xuT2NvT67f

— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) May 1, 2022

Smith said that they put together a terrific run at the Nissan Stadium. We knew the fans would give us a boost. When you see what it was like out there, I think there is a great chance to harness that as a group. We have taken every first step in this arena and hope to make it a successful period like we had at theTitans.

Since joining the league two years ago, Nashville SC have lost just one game at home and have spent over 500 days at their new castle, which fans hope will be the site of many more great memories to come.

Smith said that having our own home is important and that fathers and sons will look back and say, "Do you remember?"