FedExForum

FedExForum
Construction
The Grindhouse


Location	191 Beale Street Memphis, Tennessee 38103
Coordinates	35°8′18″N 90°3′2″W / 35.13833°N 90.05056°W / 35.13833; -90.05056Coordinates: 35°8′18″N 90°3′2″W / 35.13833°N 90.05056°W / 35.13833; -90.05056
Owner	City of Memphis
Operator	Memphis Basketball, LLC.
Capacity	Basketball: 18,119 Ice hockey: 16,411 Concert: 19,000
Broke ground	June 20, 2002
Opened	September 6, 2004
Construction cost	$250 million ($313 million in 2016 dollars^[1])
Architect	Ellerbe Becket^[2] Looney Ricks Kiss^[3] Jackson Person & Associates, Inc.^[3] Self Tucker Architects Inc.^[3]
Project manager	PC Sports^[4]
Structural engineer	ABS-EQE Structural Engineers^[2]
General contractor	M.A. Mortenson Company^[2]
Tenants
Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) (2004–present) Memphis Tigers (NCAA) (2004–present) Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament (2005-2009, 2012) American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament (2014)

FedExForum is an arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home games at the Pyramid Arena. The arena officially opened in September 2004 after much debate and also a derecho wind storm on July 22, 2003 that nearly brought down the cranes that were building it near the famed Beale Street. It was built at a cost of $250 million and is owned by the City of Memphis; naming rights were purchased by one of Memphis' most well-known businesses, FedEx, for $92 million. FedExForum was financed using $250 million of public bonds, which were issued by the Memphis Public Building Authority (PBA). The venue also has the capability of hosting ice hockey games, concerts, and family shows.

Design

FedExForum during a Memphis Grizzlies basketball game

FedExForum was designed by architectural firm Ellerbe Becket. Concrete work done with the help of Dowco Construction and Apac. The arena is 805,850 ft² (75,000 m²) in size, covering 14 acres (57,000 m²). The Arena is round, with a dome. The playing floor is lower than ground level. It is capable of seating 18,119^[5] for basketball and has 1,000 premiere courtside seats. There are 27 courtside suites, 32 club suites, 4 party suites, and 80 club boxes. It also contains a full-sized practice basketball court, visible from the huge lobby. The plans called for a mass transit bus depot, which brought a federal grant of $6 million, but the depot was changed to a premium parking garage, and Memphis had to return the money.

FedExForum's interior was designed to pay tribute to Memphis' musical heritage, with paintings and murals depicting some of the city's most famous artists. Most of the Arena's restaurants are named in conjunction with FedExForum's overall theme of music with Opus Restaurant and the Blue Note Lounge. The two other restaurants are sponsor-driven with the Lexus Lounge just off the Arena Floor and Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 in the Grand Lobby of the Arena.

FedExForum was the first arena to utilize new "see-through" shot clock units which allow spectators seated behind the basket to see the action without having the clocks interfere with their view. The idea came when a fan of the NBA's New Jersey Nets who sat behind the basket at Continental Airlines Arena sent an e-mail to NBA Commissioner David Stern, asking for technology to improve his view, and Daktronics obliged with the innovation at FedExForum in 2004.^[6] The NBA approved the unit a year later for full use and has seen the new units installed at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, Time Warner Cable Arena, TD Garden, Rose Garden, The Verizon Center, Philips Arena, and Staples Center after the approval. As of the 2011-12 NBA season every NBA arena had implemented the transparent shot clocks, with Pepsi Center, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Oracle Arena, Target Center, and Sleep Train Arena being the last NBA arenas to install the clocks.

Hosted events

On September 25, 2004, FedExForum hosted the Glen Johnson vs Roy Jones Jr. for the IBF Light heavyweight title. Johnson won the fight with a 9th round knockout.

On September 21, 2006, the Nashville Predators and the Columbus Blue Jackets played the first NHL game ever at FedEx Forum.

FedExForum has hosted three major professional wrestling events. In 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment's Unforgiven took place on September 16th, (headlined by The Undertaker and Mark Henry), and the PMG Clash of Legends independent show on April 27, featuring Hulk Hogan versus Paul Wight. In 2015, it hosted WWE Fastlane on February 22. The first of five WWE house shows took place on September 19, 2004, shortly after the venue opened. It has hosted seven episodes of WWE Raw and four of WWE SmackDown. One notable instance of WWE at the arena was when Daniel Bryan "occupied" Raw with hundreds of his fans inside the ring and surrounding the ringside area on March 10, 2014.^[7]

On February 23, 2008, FedExForum hosted the college basketball game featuring the number 1 ranked Memphis Tigers vs. the number 2 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee won the game 66–62. The facility also hosted the Conference USA men's basketball tournament from 2005 to 2009. It was the site of the South regional finals in the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, and will reprise that role during the 2017 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. FedExForum was one of the four regional finals in the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.

On December 12, 2009, FedExForum hosted an Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title fight, UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez.

In August 2010, the Professional Bull Riders' Built Ford Tough Series tour made their first appearance at FedExForum.^[8]

On August 4, 2010, FedExForum held the memorial service to Memphis native Lorenzen Wright, a Memphis Tigers alum and Memphis Grizzlies player.

On November 1, 2013, rapper Future performed for the Memphis Grizzlies 2013-2014 season home opener.

On March 12-15, 2014, the American Athletic Conference hosted their first annual tournament at the FedExForum.

References

↑ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
1 2 3 "FedExForum". Ellerbe Becket. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
1 2 3 "FedExForum". Athletic Business. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
↑ "FedExForum". PC Sports. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
↑ "Memphis Grizzlies". Forbes. 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
↑ "Fans Like NBA's See-Through Shot Clocks". NBC Sports. November 19, 2005. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
↑ Wrestling events at the FedExForum, from WrestlingData.com
↑ "Memphis Invitational Presented by Cooper Tires". Professional Bull Riders. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FedExForum.

Events and tenants
Preceded by Pyramid Arena	Home of the Memphis Grizzlies 2004 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Pyramid Arena	Home of the Memphis Tigers 2004 – present	Succeeded by current

City of Memphis and Memphis metropolitan area (counties in TN, MS and AR)

Topics

Districts

Neighborhoods

Metro area
landmarks

Tennessee	A. Schwab's Art Museum of the University of Memphis AutoZone Stadium Bartlett Museum Beale Street Bellevue Baptist Church Belz Museum Botanic Garden Brooks Museum Burkle Estate Central Station Chickasaw Bluff Children's Museum Chucalissa Museum Cotton Museum Davies Manor Dixon Gallery and Gardens Downtown Trolleys Elmwood Cemetery FedExForum Fire Museum Fort Assumption Fort Wright Graceland Hernando de Soto Bridge Liberty Bowl Stadium Libertyland Lichterman Nature Center Lincoln American Tower Magevney House Mallory-Neely House Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Memorial Park Cemetery Cotton Exchange Memphis International Airport Motorsports Park National Cemetery Parkway System Railroad & Trolley Museum Memphis Zoo Mississippi River Mississippi River Park Mud Island Monorail National Civil Rights Museum National Ornamental Metal Museum Oaklawn Garden Orpheum Theatre Overton Park Peabody Hotel Pink Palace The Pyramid Rhodes College Rock N' Soul Museum St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral Shelby Farms Stax Museum Sun Studio South Main Arts District Temple Israel Tennessee Brewery Tipton County Museum T. O. Fuller State Park Tom Lee Park Union Station University of Memphis Victorian Village Wolf River

Mississippi	Arkabutla Lake Bally's Casino BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove DeSoto County Museum Lander's Center Gold Strike Casino Holly Springs National Forest Horseshoe Casino Mississippi River Resorts Casino Tunica Sam's Town Gambling Hall Southaven Towne Center Tunica Resorts Snowden Grove Park Tanger Outlets Southaven Tunica Roadhouse Casino Wall Doxey State Park

Arkansas	Horseshoe Lake Mississippi River Southland Greyhound Park Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge

Metro area
suburbs

Tennessee	Arlington Atoka Bartlett Collierville Covington Germantown Lakeland Millington Munford Northaven Oakland Piperton Somerville Shelby Forest

Mississippi	Byhalia Hernando Holly Springs Horn Lake Olive Branch Senatobia Southaven Tunica Robinsonville/Tunica Resorts Walls

Arkansas	Earle Marion West Memphis

Metro area
counties

Tennessee	Shelby Fayette Tipton

Mississippi	DeSoto Marshall Tate Tunica

Arkansas	Crittenden

Current arenas in the National Basketball Association

Eastern Conference

Atlantic	Air Canada Centre Barclays Center Madison Square Garden TD Garden Wells Fargo Center

Central	Bankers Life Fieldhouse BMO Harris Bradley Center The Palace of Auburn Hills Quicken Loans Arena United Center

Southeast	American Airlines Arena Amway Center Philips Arena Time Warner Cable Arena Verizon Center

Western Conference

Northwest	Chesapeake Energy Arena Moda Center Pepsi Center Target Center Vivint Smart Home Arena

Pacific	Oracle Arena Sleep Train Arena Staples Center Talking Stick Resort Arena

Southwest	American Airlines Center AT&T Center FedExForum Smoothie King Center Toyota Center

Memphis Grizzlies

Formerly the Vancouver Grizzlies (1995–2001) Founded in 1995 Based in Memphis, Tennessee

Franchise	Franchise Expansion Draft All-time roster Head coaches Draft history Seasons Current season

Arenas	General Motors Place Pyramid Arena FedExForum

General managers	Jackson Knight West Wallace

Culture and lore	Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis Naismith Cup Robert J. Pera Grit and Grind

D-League Affiliate	Iowa Energy

Media	TV Fox Sports Tennessee SportSouth Radio Memphis Grizzlies Radio Network WRBO-FM Announcers Pete Pranica Brevin Knight Sean Tuohy Eric Hasseltine Hank McDowell Elliot Perry

Memphis Tigers men's basketball

Venues	Various locations (1920–1929) Memorial Fieldhouse (1929–1966) Mid-South Coliseum (1966–1991) Pyramid Arena (1991–2004) FedExForum (2004–present)

Rivalries	Louisville

Culture & lore	Pouncer Newby's TOM (mascot) "Go Tigers Go" Mighty Sound of the South

People	Head coaches All-Americans NBA players Retired jerseys

Seasons	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1942–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Basketball arenas of the American Athletic Conference

Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati)
Gampel Pavilion (Connecticut)
XL Center (Connecticut)
Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (East Carolina)
Hofheinz Pavilion (Houston)
Elma Roane Fieldhouse (Memphis, women)
FedExForum (Memphis, men)
McGonigle Hall (Temple), women)
Moody Coliseum (SMU)
USF Sun Dome (South Florida)
Liacouras Center (Temple)
Devlin Fieldhouse (Tulane)
Reynolds Center (Tulsa)
CFE Arena (UCF)

Music venues of Tennessee

Outdoor venues	Ascend Amphitheater Finley Stadium Great Stage Park Levitt Shell Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Mud Island Nissan Stadium

Theaters and clubs	Bijou Theatre Bluebird Cafe Exit/In Grand Ole Opry Ryman Auditorium Tennessee Theatre War Memorial Auditorium Station Inn Robert's Western World

Arenas	Bridgestone Arena FedExForum Freedom Hall Civic Center McKenzie Arena Murphy Center Nashville Municipal Auditorium Oman Arena Thompson–Boling Arena Viking Hall Civic Center

Festivals	Bonnaroo Music Festival

Historic venues	Pyramid Arena Starwood Amphitheatre

FedEx Corporation

Established 1971

Founder	Frederick W. Smith

Subsidiaries	Express Ground Freight Custom Critical Office Trade Networks Supply Chain Corporate Services TechConnect SmartPost

Air hubs	Memphis Indianapolis Anchorage Oakland Newark Fort Worth Miami Paris Kansai Guangzhou Cologne Toronto

Related	Flying Tiger Line American Freightways Asia Airfreight FedEx Institute of Technology KIAC FedEx Field FedEx Forum FedEx Racing Zapmail Cast Away

Annual Revenue $34.7 billion USD (2010) Employees 290,000 (2010) Stock Symbol FDX Website fedex.com Products Freight Forwarding Services, Logistics Services

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