MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New public documents indicate that local government and the Memphis Grizzlies could come to a new lease at FedExForum in the near future, according to reporting on materials attached to a Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority vote.
On Oct. 8, the Sports Authority — the public body that owns FedExForum — voted on a Construction Manager at Risk Agreement and a funding agreement for planned renovations. The construction agreement detailing work by Oklahoma-based Flintco was described at the meeting as a step toward a new, long-term lease with the Grizzlies.
Exhibits with the agreements state that upcoming renovations benefit the Grizzlies and list team corporate affiliates as project beneficiaries. The documents make the Sports Authority the contract holder for renovations involving nearly $500 million in public tax dollars. City and county officials have put the broader renovation cost at about $550 million.
The Grizzlies current lease at FedExForum runs through 2029. Memphis played its first three seasons at the Pyramid before moving into FedExForum when it opened in 2004, and the University of Memphis men basketball team also plays home games there.
FedExForum sits at 191 Beale St downtown with a listed capacity of 17,794 and anchors the riverfront CBD alongside Beale Street in local geography notes. The Memphis Grizzlies are the city major professional sports franchise, so a new long-term lease would lock the club into the renovated arena beyond the current end date.
Coverage of the document review said the papers explicitly point toward a new long-term lease arriving soon as renovation contracting advances.
