2000 - 860,000
2001 - 785,806 (season cancelled after 9/11)
2002 - 807,636
The Redbirds televised 33 games in 2002 (in the Delta region) in addition to 140 radio broadcasts.
Corporate Backing by Local Fortune 500 HQ's
Federal Express Inc., International Paper, Autozone
Regional HQ's of Fortune 500 in the City
UPS, Nike, Reebok, Presley Enterprises, Barnes and Noble, Northwest Airlines, Regions Bank, Williams Sonoma, Georgia Pacific, Holiday Inn Corp., The Coors Brewery, Panasonic
Growth Projections and Downtown Development
Ranked #14 in 2001's America's Hottest Cities for Relocation
http://www.expandinjax.com/featurestory/feature_ed_71.asp
a. Mayor Dr. Herenton was named USA Mayor of the Year 2001
b. Memphis city government has been named a High Five City(Top 5 US cities above 1 million MSA) again for the 3rd consecutive year.
c. Tunica Mississippi (12 miles south of the city) has become the 3rd largest casino district in the U.S. after only 10 years (#1 Las Vegas & #2 Atlantic City)
d. The development to become the nations largest biomedical district surpassing Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC is 10 blocks from Autozone Park.
e. Downtown Memphis has had in excess of $3.0 billion in renovations and development within the last 3 years. An additional $275 was earmarked today for development on the trolley lines.
The New York Times described the downtown efforts as this: "Finally, Memphis has built a downtown southerners have been trying to build for 150 years."
Tourism 2001
Memphis 4 million + Tunica 15 million = 19 million
Merchandise - Sales
The last 5 seasons the team merchandise has finished no lower than 3rd in the entire minor league team sales.
National Attention - Baseball
The 2001 Baseball America Almanac features Autozone Park of Memphis on the cover.
"Right now there are a least four cities nationwide that could support a major league baseball team. D.C., Memphis, Sacramento, and NYC-NJ."
- The Wall Street Journal
A bold new direction that may be what baseball needs ... The Memphis Redbirds are the first and only non-profit organization which Bud Selig has said "really intrigues many of us in MLB".
http://www.memphisredbirds.com/not-for-profit/index.html
MLB, The Baseball Hall of Fame, and The Smithsonian Institute all selected Memphis as the future site of the Minor League Baseball Hall of Fame (Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis, Dallas, and Charlotte all applied for it). This is another example of the respect tendered to Memphis' baseball following.
http://www.memphisredbirds.com/autozone_park/museum.html
AutoZone Park
Built for expansion specified by major league baseball with a built in cost of an additional $100 million creating 23,000 additional seats.
Tenant: Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals / 1998)
Opened: 2000
Surface: Grass
Capacity: 14,320 (1,600 club level seats and 48 suites)
Architect: Looney Ricks Kiss Architects (Memphis) and HOK Sport (Kansas City)
Owner: Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation
Cost: $80.5 million total project
Dimensions: left field: 319 feet; left-center: 360 feet; center field: 400 feet; right-center: 373 feet; right field: 322 feet
Fences: left field: 15'8"; center and right fields: 7'8"
Characterizes the historic warehouse architecture in the downtown area and provides a major league atmosphere
Entry/public plaza, located across from renowned Peabody Hotel, incorporates public art in the form of baseball sculptures and a baseball diamond mosaic
Autozone Awards:
? Award of Excellence from The American City Beautiful Commission
? American Society of Interior Designers Gold Award for Institutional Architecture
? The Sporting News Top Minor League Baseball Park 2000 and 2001.
? Sports Illustrated Magazine's Minor League Park of the Year Award 2000, 2001, and 2002.
Quotes
"This place is amazing," said Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman. "I've been to every major league park but two and the atmosphere here, the setting, the ballpark itself tops an awful lot of them."
"One of America's top 10 baseball vacation destinations."
-USA Today
"It's a major league park and city, with the coziness and intimacy of the minor leagues," says Geoff Wilson, Assistant Editor at Baseball America.
"Expo fans should cross their fingers and hope ownership never has a layover in Memphis."
- Marc Haull
Boston Globe
"An apprentice to Atlanta is finally rising in the south. Only this one has love a for baseball Brave fans have only dreamt about."
- Stephen Bly
Los Angeles Times
I agree that Memphis is an intriguing location for relocation of a Major League team. The city, aside from its success in baseball, has distinguished itself of late. The Memphis Redbirds and AutoZone Park have become almost legendary since the team christened the stadium opened in 2000.
However, part of the intrigue, as well as part of the advantage in funding the ballpark, is grounded in the fact that the team and stadium are the only pair collectively owned by a not-for-profit entity. And Memphis officials have apparently stood firm in their desire to remain a not-for-profit company if elevated to the majors. Therein lies the rub.
I can't answer the questions, but I can certainly pose those that have crossed the minds of MLB leaders. Particularly, how does a non-profit member affect the legality of collective bargaining and the antitrust exemption? Readers' opinions of the antitrust exemption are moot in this discussion; since it is currently in effect, MLB owners will be hesitant to make a change in the ranks that could jeopardize its status.
2001 - 785,806 (season cancelled after 9/11)
2002 - 807,636
The Redbirds televised 33 games in 2002 (in the Delta region) in addition to 140 radio broadcasts.
Corporate Backing by Local Fortune 500 HQ's
Federal Express Inc., International Paper, Autozone
Regional HQ's of Fortune 500 in the City
UPS, Nike, Reebok, Presley Enterprises, Barnes and Noble, Northwest Airlines, Regions Bank, Williams Sonoma, Georgia Pacific, Holiday Inn Corp., The Coors Brewery, Panasonic
Growth Projections and Downtown Development
Ranked #14 in 2001's America's Hottest Cities for Relocation
http://www.expandinjax.com/featurestory/feature_ed_71.asp
a. Mayor Dr. Herenton was named USA Mayor of the Year 2001
b. Memphis city government has been named a High Five City(Top 5 US cities above 1 million MSA) again for the 3rd consecutive year.
c. Tunica Mississippi (12 miles south of the city) has become the 3rd largest casino district in the U.S. after only 10 years (#1 Las Vegas & #2 Atlantic City)
d. The development to become the nations largest biomedical district surpassing Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC is 10 blocks from Autozone Park.
e. Downtown Memphis has had in excess of $3.0 billion in renovations and development within the last 3 years. An additional $275 was earmarked today for development on the trolley lines.
The New York Times described the downtown efforts as this: "Finally, Memphis has built a downtown southerners have been trying to build for 150 years."
Tourism 2001
Memphis 4 million + Tunica 15 million = 19 million
Merchandise - Sales
The last 5 seasons the team merchandise has finished no lower than 3rd in the entire minor league team sales.
National Attention - Baseball
The 2001 Baseball America Almanac features Autozone Park of Memphis on the cover.
"Right now there are a least four cities nationwide that could support a major league baseball team. D.C., Memphis, Sacramento, and NYC-NJ."
- The Wall Street Journal
A bold new direction that may be what baseball needs ... The Memphis Redbirds are the first and only non-profit organization which Bud Selig has said "really intrigues many of us in MLB".
http://www.memphisredbirds.com/not-for-profit/index.html
MLB, The Baseball Hall of Fame, and The Smithsonian Institute all selected Memphis as the future site of the Minor League Baseball Hall of Fame (Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis, Dallas, and Charlotte all applied for it). This is another example of the respect tendered to Memphis' baseball following.
http://www.memphisredbirds.com/autozone_park/museum.html
AutoZone Park
Built for expansion specified by major league baseball with a built in cost of an additional $100 million creating 23,000 additional seats.
Tenant: Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals / 1998)
Opened: 2000
Surface: Grass
Capacity: 14,320 (1,600 club level seats and 48 suites)
Architect: Looney Ricks Kiss Architects (Memphis) and HOK Sport (Kansas City)
Owner: Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation
Cost: $80.5 million total project
Dimensions: left field: 319 feet; left-center: 360 feet; center field: 400 feet; right-center: 373 feet; right field: 322 feet
Fences: left field: 15'8"; center and right fields: 7'8"
Characterizes the historic warehouse architecture in the downtown area and provides a major league atmosphere
Entry/public plaza, located across from renowned Peabody Hotel, incorporates public art in the form of baseball sculptures and a baseball diamond mosaic
Autozone Awards:
? Award of Excellence from The American City Beautiful Commission
? American Society of Interior Designers Gold Award for Institutional Architecture
? The Sporting News Top Minor League Baseball Park 2000 and 2001.
? Sports Illustrated Magazine's Minor League Park of the Year Award 2000, 2001, and 2002.
Quotes
"This place is amazing," said Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman. "I've been to every major league park but two and the atmosphere here, the setting, the ballpark itself tops an awful lot of them."
"One of America's top 10 baseball vacation destinations."
-USA Today
"It's a major league park and city, with the coziness and intimacy of the minor leagues," says Geoff Wilson, Assistant Editor at Baseball America.
"Expo fans should cross their fingers and hope ownership never has a layover in Memphis."
- Marc Haull
Boston Globe
"An apprentice to Atlanta is finally rising in the south. Only this one has love a for baseball Brave fans have only dreamt about."
- Stephen Bly
Los Angeles Times
I agree that Memphis is an intriguing location for relocation of a Major League team. The city, aside from its success in baseball, has distinguished itself of late. The Memphis Redbirds and AutoZone Park have become almost legendary since the team christened the stadium opened in 2000.
However, part of the intrigue, as well as part of the advantage in funding the ballpark, is grounded in the fact that the team and stadium are the only pair collectively owned by a not-for-profit entity. And Memphis officials have apparently stood firm in their desire to remain a not-for-profit company if elevated to the majors. Therein lies the rub.
I can't answer the questions, but I can certainly pose those that have crossed the minds of MLB leaders. Particularly, how does a non-profit member affect the legality of collective bargaining and the antitrust exemption? Readers' opinions of the antitrust exemption are moot in this discussion; since it is currently in effect, MLB owners will be hesitant to make a change in the ranks that could jeopardize its status.
