Tag: The Pyramid

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Weather Magic, a Masking Debate, and Kings of Mother’s Day

A roundup of Memphis on the World Wide Web.

Weather Magic

Memphis was spared from a nasty storm line Sunday, breaking over the city and heading north and south. Reddit user VariableBooleans posted a weather map showing “live imagery of the Pyramid working its black magic on the weather.”

Posted to Reddit by VariableBooleans

Masking down?

Binghamptonian Gloria Sanders opened a can of hot debate on Nextdoor last week with this question: “What are your thoughts about Shelby County mask mandate being lifted on May 15th?” As of press time, the post had 559 comments.

Some warned that cases would rise here, as not enough people had been vaccinated. Some said it’s a personal choice and they’d still wear theirs. Others said the vaccine is available, so “it’s no longer society’s responsibility to protect you from COVID.” Others urged “stop living in fear” and #freetheface.

Mother’s Day Kings

Posted to Twitter by DJ Paul

DJ Paul, one half of Three 6 Mafia, tweeted Sunday, “celebrating Mother’s Day with family and ran into my fellow king. @YoGotti #memphis #kings #mafia”

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Opinion Viewpoint

Pyramid History 101

If you’ve seen one mounted deer head you’ve pretty much seen them all, but 100 or so stuffed deer, elk, moose, bears, and other critters is another matter, so I went eagerly to check out those and other wonders of the new Bass Pro Pyramid when it opened.

And I was duly impressed. This is a special store in a special building. And if Bass Pro founder/owner Johnny Morris thinks first-time visitors aren’t as curious about the structure as they are about the furnishings, then he’s dumber than a catfish, which he obviously is not.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bass Pro go public within a year or so, with a valuation of a few billion dollars, which is not bad for an enterprise that started as a Missouri bait shop. So I say, as Morris and his team of architects and marketers go through their final punch list items, they should add one thing — a nod to the Pyramid’s history, perhaps a display or plaque, with suitable attention to the funders of the place (the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County) and its prime movers, schemes, and shenanigans. Yes, including Sidney Shlenker’s and Isaac Tigrett’s crystal skull. People love a good story as much as a plate of fried catfish or, I will wager, an ode to duck flyways.

I am sort of married to the Pyramid. I wrote so much about it that several times I swore I would write no more forever, and then something new would come along and I would break my vow.

In 1986, I was writing for The Commercial Appeal‘s Sunday magazine when a young man named Brent Hartz came calling. He had renderings of a gigantic golden pyramid his father had drawn several years before and was doing a road show to influential downtowners.

John Tigrett, who was as reclusive as his wife Pat is outgoing, was smitten. Memphis needed a landmark and a new arena, but this was no gimme. Mayor Dick Hackett and the reigning powers-that-be at then Memphis State University wanted to expand the Mid-South Coliseum at the fairgrounds. The Pyramid was too big, too expensive, too far, too risky. Tigrett persuaded his friend, FedEx founder Fred Smith, to chair the Public Building Authority that met for nearly a year. The go-ahead may well have doomed the fairgrounds, along with Hackett’s political career.

It was a Mad Men dream with a cast of characters, mishaps, and moments worthy of a mini-series: the decision to move the site from atop the South Bluff to “down in a hole”; the “Big Dig” groundbreaking with a giant lighted-shovel drop; daring ironworkers with video cameras at the topping-out ceremony; the gap-toothed Shlenker; the aforementioned hidden crystal skull at the apex; the flooded bathrooms at the opening concert; the inclinator to the top that never was; some rocking concerts and basketball tournaments; partial redemption as Grizzly bait; and the building’s closing in 2004.

“Who knows what’s going to happen to this Pyramid in the long run, how successful it’s going to be or not be,” said Morris in short and understated remarks at the opening ceremony.

He looked like a man who would rather kiss a rattlesnake than make a speech, but there is no shortage of Morris-abilia inside the Pyramid. The tales of Uncle Buck and the yarn about going fishing with Bill Dance and catching a whopper that closed the deal are cute, but it should be noted that this house was conceived and built in Memphis, and Bass Pro moved into it.

Even modest public buildings usually merit a plaque at the entrance recognizing the enablers. At the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, a riveting documentary film records the contributions of architect Eero Saarinen and the placement of the capstone piece.

The most interesting building in Memphis deserves something to acknowledge its history, and it would be good manners and good marketing if Bass Pro were to step up and do it. Why not give visitors an answer to their inevitable “How did this get here?” question?

You can’t make this stuff up, and you don’t have to. John Tigrett and Sidney Shlenker are gone, but the others are still alive, and there is gobs of archival film. Tell the story inside the building. Lord knows there’s room for it.

John Branston is a former Flyer senior editor who is now working on various writing projects — and his tennis game.

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News The Fly-By

Gone Fishin’

CREDIT: Courtesy Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau

Bass Pro Shops might have finally taken the bait.

After a Pyramid Reuse Committee meeting last week, it seems the outdoors retailer is close to signing a deal for the former arena.

Though a July 31st deadline passed without an agreement between Bass Pro and local government, attorneys for both parties say they have reached a “pre-development agreement.”

Though the agreement is only verbal, reuse committee members decided to extend the agreement deadline to September 15th.

Shelby County chief administrative officer and Pyramid Reuse Committee head Jim Huntzicker hopes to see the details of the development agreement soon.

“If we’re talking about getting something going by the end of this month or early September, we need to have the papers in front of us in the next day or so,” Huntzicker told the committee. “We need to have the agreement in our hands. It’s going to take time to review all the materials.”

Once the development agreement is signed, Bass Pro will have a year to complete and sign a lease agreement. Under the development agreement, Bass Pro will pay $35,000 a month for the Pyramid. The company also will have three months to reach certain architectural, engineering, and budgetary deadlines.

Shelby County commissioner Deidre Malone is a member of the negotiating team.

“If at any time we feel that they are not moving forward in good faith, we can say that we want out,” she says.

If either party does opt out after the development agreement is signed, Bass Pro will be required to pay $500,000 to the city in termination fees.

Malone recently participated in a conference call with Memphis mayor Willie Herenton, City Council member Reid Hedgepeth, and Bass Pro president Jim Hagel.

“Jim Hagel made it very clear to us that the lawyers were comfortable with the agreement, and if they were to get it to him the next day, he’d sign it because he’s ready to come to Memphis,” Malone says.

Pyramid reuse project manager Robert Lipscomb says bringing in Bass Pro Shops will make Memphis a huge tourist destination.

“This, along with Graceland, will make us the next tourist mecca,” Lipscomb says. “Memphis is on the move, and this is going to put us over the top.”

Since Bass Pro has been given an extended deadline, any other Pyramid offers — including a $12 million bid from Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church — have been tabled for now.

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We Recommend We Recommend

Great Outdoors

Many people take the elevator rather than walk up a few flights of stairs. Some Memphians, on the other hand, are opting to run up and down stairs — those outside the Pyramid.

“Workout on the River,” a boot-camp-style fitness program, takes participants outside the gym and into downtown Memphis. The first camp concluded in early August; the second camp’s eight-week session will begin August 13th.

Developer Stacy Chick, a five-year trainer at the downtown YMCA, ran the gym’s boot-camp workout for two years. Her class was popular, but one factor was missing: a pleasant setting.

“I realized that it’s kind of boring in the gym,” Chick says. So, she took her program outside. Chick finds the new workout environment not only pleasing to the eye but also beneficial for exercise.

“I don’t have to be the sole motivator anymore,” she says. “The environment is the motivator. Sometimes, we run to the Pyramid and then run up the stairs there. It’s much more interesting than a treadmill and weight rack. When people get bored, they lose focus.”

Other activities in the boot camp include weight lifting, running, kickboxing, and obstacle courses. Participants meet three times a week for one-hour workouts.

The boot camp is designed to meet various levels of physical fitness, no matter how flabby or ‘ripped’ you may be. Exercisers support one another, but they also hold each other accountable for slacking on workouts or nutritious eating.

“The boot camp teaches a healthy lifestyle and self-confidence,” Chick says. “People also socialize. It’s not just that you notice the results. People around you notice too.”

“Workout on the River,” Greenbelt Park. Starts Monday, August 13th, 5:45 a.m., 5:45 p.m., or 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. $225. For more information, e-mail riverworkout@comcast.net or call 488-7740.

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News The Fly-By

Taking the Bait

FSBO: Huge head-turner. Needs work, but still fit for a king. 0 BR, 275 BA. Great dntwn location, 500,000 sq. ft., 7-truck garage. Unbelievable views!

If only things were that simple.

The Shelby County Commission got an update on the future of the Pyramid last week, and as it stands now, area officials are still hoping the Tomb of Doom will lure Bass Pro Shops.

“It’s like trying to sell a house if you only have one buyer,” city CFO and all-around redevelopment project manager Robert Lipscomb told members of the County Commission at an ad-hoc committee meeting.

In February 2006, after months of discussion, the city announced plans for the Pyramid: Bass Pro edition, with plans including a restaurant, a hotel, an aquarium, a marina, and even a waterfall. The building was shuttered roughly a year later. But if the public is wary, Lipscomb is still optimistic.

“It looks more than promising,” Lipscomb assured county commissioners. But he admitted that “we don’t have a lot of leverage. We just have one entity we’re dealing with.”

The county still owes about $6 million on the pointy arena, originally opened in 1991. The city owes about $4 million. Though closed to events, it costs more than $500,000 a year to keep the Pyramid maintained and secure.

Lipscomb said they looked at Bass Pro after a study said the best use of the Pyramid would be as retail space.

“We approached Bass Pro, and they said, yes, we are interested,” said Lipscomb. “Bass Pro doesn’t usually do this type of project. If they do a flagship at the Pyramid, it will cannibalize what they have in Springfield, Missouri, I can tell you that.”

Understandably, the commissioners wanted assurances that Lipscomb & Co. had a plan B. You know, just in case Bass Pro becomes the one that gets away.

Lipscomb didn’t want to get into details of the back-up plan but told commissioners there was one.

Let’s hope it’s a good one.

Just a few days ago, the company’s Web site listed the Pyramid as a location of a future store. But now the red “future location” star has been removed from Memphis on the company’s U.S. locations map, as well as any mention of a Pyramid store in Memphis.

When reached by phone, Bass Pro corporate public relations manager Larry Whiteley said the company was still interested in the Pyramid and still discussing the possibilities. Whiteley said Bass Pro was cleaning up its Web site and decided that the future location star would only be used for stores “opening this year or next.”

At the very least, it looks like we’re in for a long wait.

Commissioner James Harvey noted that Shelby County isn’t the only place having a problem finding a new use for an aging arena.

“Around the country, arenas are being torn down or used as churches,” he said.

But we don’t just have one old arena. We have two, maybe even three depending on what is decided on a new stadium, arena-type places that have outlived their usefulness.

Maybe it’s just bad luck: the curse of the Pyramid. Or maybe not.

When asked by county commissioners why he got the job of finding a new use for the Pyramid, Lipscomb said it became his by default because, at the time, no one else was thinking about it.

We could ask why we’re only dealing with one entity, but at this point, it seems important to focus on the future.

If the Pyramid were a house with a $10 million mortgage for sale in a stagnant market, the owners would be doing everything they could to sell it: repairs, repainting, warranties, staging.

Sure, the Pyramid is sort of “under contract,” but it has been that way for more than a year.

We’ve got a nibble, but how long do we wait before we reel in our line? Maybe it’s time to make another cast.

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News The Fly-By

For Thought

CREDIT: Michael Drager | dreamstime.com

I’ve recently started working on my five-year plan. I think it’s all the business and planning forums I attend. I’m always hearing “if you don’t know where you want to go, how can you ever get there?” (I also hear a lot about “low-hanging fruit” and benchmarks, but I digress.)

My five-year plan covers everything: housing, transportation, spawn, salary, lifestyle. And in many ways, it has to. If you have children, that affects what kind of transportation you use. And where and how you live certainly depends on how much money you make.

I mention this because in the last week or so, it just seems that the more things change in the city, the more they stay the same.

The city administration formally presented the results of a $700,000 efficiency study to the City Council last week, but even though it found $19 million in potential savings, Mayor Willie Herenton didn’t seem interested in implementing them. About 80 percent of the savings came from the fire department.

“We have known for some time that there are opportunities to reduce costs, but that wasn’t what we wanted to do,” said Herenton. “The consultants can come in and study, but we’re the ones who have to run this.”

Outdoor retailer Bass Pro initially said it was interested in the Pyramid late December 2005, but it still hasn’t made a commitment. An article in last week’s Commercial Appeal quoted city CFO Robert Lipscomb saying people needed to have patience. Maybe this is what we get for dealing with a retailer that caters to fishermen, a group of people known for both their patience and their tall tales.

Also this week, Save Libertyland announced that they had been given the Zippin Pippin. The activist group is interested in donating the roller coaster back to the city, if the city will preserve it and keep it on the Fairgrounds property. If the city agrees, the only difference from a few years ago would be the Mid-South Fair made $2,500 off of it and now the ride doesn’t have any cars.

Is this progress?

What if I told you that in five years from now, the Fords will still have a family member on a majority of the local legislative bodies? Or that Herenton was still mayor? Or that the Pyramid was still sitting vacant?

Would that be acceptable?

In Curitiba, Brazil, now a world-renowned city for its solutions to sprawl, poverty, limited public funding, and other urban problems, planners started working on the city 40 years ago. Now it’s been a “showpiece of urban planning,” — more than 40 other cities have developed transportation systems based upon Curitiba’s rapid bus system and leaders from all over the world have visited the city to learn how it transformed itself.

But the smallest step was perhaps the most important: Planners met weekly, even daily, not to work on the plan but to remind and refresh themselves of the goals they were working toward.

I’m not sure how proactively the Memphis region is thinking about the future. There are areas of foresight, of course. The chamber is looking at Brooks Road and the concept of the aerotropolis. Germantown has a plan for itself called Germantown 2020. Within the entire county, the office of planning and development has a comprehensive planning section that is charged with providing direction for future growth by developing policies and strategies.

In the long-term, the most critical factor for the community’s future is perhaps transportation. The decisions that are made about roads and highways eventually affect where housing and retail are located and at what densities. And those decisions are made very far in advance.

The Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is currently working on Destination 2030, a plan for the Memphis area’s transportation needs for the next 25 years. But if the MPO is talking about what Memphis will need for the next quarter-century, the rest of the region needs to be thinking about that, too.

Look at the future Highway 385 — it’s going to extend Memphis’ reach past the Shelby County line and into Fayette County. Pretty soon, citizens might start debating the merits of the Shelby County school system versus the Fayette County school system.

But in the short-term, I think the most critical factor is what the public wants. Maybe it’s more trashcans on downtown streets. I’d like to see that, as well as eye-catching recycling bins set up in government buildings, public schools, and the airport. Maybe it’s The Pyramid torn down.

The bottom line is this: Either we think about what we want for our city or we’re just along for the ride.