What: In his State of the City speech Monday,
Mayor Willie Herenton proposed for the first time that Memphis build a new
football stadium with at least 50,000 seats. It would serve the University of
Memphis, the Southern Heritage Classic, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and Memphis
high schools.
Why now? The proposal came as a surprise to
almost everyone. No sportswriters or broadcast sports reporters were in
attendance, and Herenton said some of his own division directors were learning
about it for the first time. The announcement coincides with the biggest day of
college football bowl games and follows the successful Liberty Bowl game by
three days. Herenton said he wants to give the state legislature two years to
consider it. State funding of some sort will be sought, and cities usually get
tax reimbursements as well.
Where? The stadium would be built at the
Mid-South Fairgrounds, but not on the site of the current stadium, which has no
backup facility. University of Memphis Athletic Director R. C. Johnson said the
fairgrounds is “on campus” as far as he is concerned.
How much would it cost? Herenton gave no
financial estimates but said he would provide them in the next several weeks. He
said it would cost about $50 million to rehabilitate LibertyBowl Stadium and the
Mid-South Coliseum. The University of Louisville built a new 42,000-seat stadium
in 1998 for $63 million, but newer and larger stadiums have cost more than $250
million.
Who is pushing it? Herenton was joined Monday
by Steve Ehrhart of the Liberty Bowl and Fred Jones of the Southern Heritage
Classic as well as Johnson. There were no representatives of local corporations.
A representative of Memphis City Schools was there, but this is a stretch since
high school games rarely draw more than 10,000 fans.
What are the chances? Hard to say now, but
not great. The University of Memphis is coming off a terrible year, the bowl
game and Southern Heritage Classic draw more than 50,000 fans as it is, and
Memphians are still feeling the fallout from FedExForum. Then there is the empty
Pyramid. Finally, the proposal seems somewhat ill conceived. At the year’s only
hard sellout – the Tennessee v. Memphis game – the biggest complaint from fans
was not the quality of the stadium but the fact that so few gates were open that
thousands of fans missed the kickoff and much of the first quarter. This is a
Memphis Park Commission problem, not a stadium problem.
Who would pay for it? Herenton didn’t say.
All he said was that Memphis would fund improvements with economic growth and
not taxation. Corporate sponsorships will obviously be one source of funding,
but a 50,000-seat stadium would probably require some public funds.
— John Branston
