The Memphis City Council approved the creation of the Beale Street Tourism Development Authority (BSTDA) on Tuesday.
The new board will eventually take the reins of the street’s management from the Downtown Memphis Commission, which has overseen the day-to-day operations of Beale Street since Jan. 1, 2014.
The BSTDA will be comprised of 11 voting members, all appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. The board would also have two non-voting members, one to represent the mayor and the other to represent the council. It would also have two members who represent Beale Street merchants. The members would have to be Memphis residents and registered voters.
One of the first pieces of work for the new board is expected to be finding a new, private development company to run the street. The Beale Street board would likely be the approval authority for that new manager.
The city owns the four-block entertainment district. It had a lease/management deal with the privately held Performa Entertainment for more than 30 years. That deal ended when the DMC took over.
