Mid-South Coliseum News

Mid-South Coliseum News The latest news and information about the ongoing effort to save the historic Mid-South Coliseum from demolition.

The Mid-South Coliseum has an extraordinary local significance in the modern history of entertainment/recreation and the music history of Memphis. It is the only extant building in Memphis where such significant musical groups as The Beatles, The Stax-Volt Record R***e, Ike and Tina Turner, The Who, Led Zepellin, The Rolling Stones, James Brown, and Elvis Presley performed during their period of s

ignificance in American popular music and as such, the coliseum served as a center for cultural expression among Memphis youth, both white and black. The building created a cultural forum where Memphis youth, both black and white, participated in, and were influenced by, a rapid transformation in American popular music that replaced small venues of a several hundred patrons, who listened attentively to barely amplified performances, to thousands of kids reacting emotionally to the throbs of massive sounds of screaming instruments set in a theatrical backdrop where the audience was as much part of the performance as the performers themselves. Developed and constructed between 1960 and 1964, the Mid-South Coliseum was the first public auditorium in Memphis to be planned as an integrated facility, rather than a so-called "separate but equal" segregated building, significant in an era of rapid change in race relations that by no means could be predicted as successful in 1960. The building is similar in design to the coliseums in Jacksonville, Florida, opened in 1960, and Mobile, Alabama, opened in 1965. However, the coliseum in Mobile was specifically designed, as were other Deep South public buildings of the era, as a segregated facility. Performances before integrated audiences occurred at the Mid-South Coliseum as soon as the building opened in 1964, and its period of significance extends to 1974, when Elvis Presley gave his first Memphis concerts in over a decade at the coliseum and recorded a live album there.

02/18/2020

M&M Enterprises will develop a smaller part of the 18 acres along Central Avenue that is to be developed commercially. And the city is now the project manager for that part of the Fairgrounds redevelopment.

09/30/2019

Wes Bult responds to this episode by laying the smack down on Grizzlies president Jason Wexler and local journalist Chri...
09/15/2019

Wes Bult responds to this episode by laying the smack down on Grizzlies president Jason Wexler and local journalist Chris Herrington:

"Wexler claims Memphis doesn't need a mid-size venue because the FedEx Forum can easily host mid-sized events. They simply draw a curtain around the upper floor and voila! lol, that boy beats all I've ever seen. Eric Barnes should have called him on that and asked "For example, what sort of mid-size events do you host there and how often?" Besides poor attendance at Grizzlies games, that is. Yes, I imagine he DOES draw those curtains to save face on national TV during Grizzlies games. I'd bet he's never drawn that curtain for a musical act because if the act can't potentially sell out the Forum, they don't get booked. Instead, they're forced to skip Memphis when planning their tours.

The other goofball, Chris Herrington, claims there's no market for mid-sized events in Memphis because such acts can't even draw a decent crowd in Southaven either. In other words, music has apparently died according to Chris. People just don't like live music anymore. lol, that Chris, what an genius. News Flash: Southaven isn't Memphis. Maybe he forgot Memphis is a famous music town. Bands want the prestige of playing in Memphis, preferably at the historic Mid-South Coliseum, not some little-known venue in Bumf**k, MS.

If you Google it, you'll find more info than you probably need about touring bands. It's a huge market. But, besides music, there's lots of other entertainment events that can be booked at an indoor, climate controlled, mid-size venue in Memphis. So stop wasting our time going on local TV to defy logic while attempting to kill any idea of reopening the Coliseum--which is THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE, by the way. There's no need to kiss Wexler's ass, Chris. In 2026 his GAME will be OVER and he'll disappear along with that questionably legal competition-killing Grizz contract that held the town hostage for so long and killed the music scene."

About the author: A longtime activist in the cause to save the Mid-South Coliseum, Wes has tirelessly worked behind the scenes to restore the historic venue to its former glory. This unsung hero doesn't pussyfoot around like the others who came after him, in particular those who established that ineffectual Coliseum Coalition group who jumped on the bandwagon simply to make a name for themselves.

Jason Wexler, President of the Memphis Grizzlies, joins Chris Herrington, writer for The Daily Memphian, and host Eric Barnes to discuss the impact of the Gr...

The Interns' old stomping grounds to be demolished!The Nashville Fairground's Sports Arena, loved by fans for hosting th...
05/31/2019

The Interns' old stomping grounds to be demolished!

The Nashville Fairground's Sports Arena, loved by fans for hosting the greatest action every Wednesday night, will now host its final wrestling event before demolition.

The final professional wrestling show at the old Nashville fairgrounds building will take place on Saturday when the independent promotion House of Hardcore hosts its Farewell to the Fairgrounds event.

Post your pictures of the Mid-South Coliseum!
02/18/2019

Post your pictures of the Mid-South Coliseum!

52 years ago!January 4, 1967 - On this day, Memphis Mayor William Ingram Jr. submitted a proclamation to rename the Mi...
01/04/2019

52 years ago!

January 4, 1967 - On this day, Memphis Mayor William Ingram Jr. submitted a proclamation to rename the Mid-South Coliseum to "Elvis Presley Coliseum" only to have it rejected by the City Council. At this time, Elvis had never performed at the Coliseum in Memphis and spent most of his time in Hollywood making movies and performing in Las Vegas.

January 4, 1967 - Memphis Mayor William Ingram Jr. submits a proclamation to rename the Mid-South Coliseum to "Elvis Presley Coliseum" only to have it rejected by the City Council. At this time, Elvis had never performed at the Coliseum in Memphis and spent most of his time in Hollywood making movies and performing in Las Vegas.

54 years ago!On December 19, 1964, a Dedication Ceremony was held at the opening of the Mid-South Coliseum.
12/19/2018

54 years ago!

On December 19, 1964, a Dedication Ceremony was held at the opening of the Mid-South Coliseum.

Cover of Mid-South Coliseum Dedication Ceremony pamphlet. December 19, 1964.

12/18/2018

Elvis Presley Enterprises and the Memphis Grizzlies need to work out their issues, lots of candidates apply for open City Council seats, and more.

The good news: Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) announced that it would greatly ramp up its concerts over the next couple...
12/17/2018

The good news: Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) announced that it would greatly ramp up its concerts over the next couple of years — and fans swooned around the globe. EPE isn't just talking about more Elvis tribute bands, either. Bob Mehr reports that EPE wants "legacy acts and up-and-comers acts, plus a variety of special concert events."

Then EPE got its bad news: A Shelby County chancellor again smacked down EPE's lawsuit seeking a declaration that Memphis and Shelby County can support a proposed 6,200-seat Graceland arena without violating a FedExForum use agreement.

After the ruling, Memphis Chief Legal Officer Bruce McMullen did a little end-zone celebrating:

"We’re not surprised by Court’s ruling as we doubted the merits of Elvis Presley Enterprises’ (EPE) complaint from the beginning. EPE wants the City of Memphis to use tax dollars to build its new arena. This would violate our contract with the Memphis Grizzlies to operate FedEx Forum. We don’t think litigation is the answer. We are and have always been hopeful that all parties can sit down and work out an agreement."

But EPE attorney James McLaren told the Memphis Business Journal that his client "believes that the Chancellor’s ruling is incorrect and plans on appealing." In other words: EPE is looking at this loss as a setback, not the end of the game.

However, McMullen is right: litigation isn't the answer. Or, if it's an answer, it's not the best one.

Outside of EPE building its arena with its own money, the best solution is for EPE and the Grizzlies to do a little soul-searching about what is best for Memphis as a whole. If an arena would cut the legs from under the FedExForum, EPE should step away. If the scuttling of the FedExForum is unlikely, then the Grizzlies should make concessions.

Unfortunately, EPE has made all of this very personal, threatening to fund a competitor to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland in 2019 and who knows what else. Maybe this ship has already sailed, but Strickland is missing a golden opportunity to be the mediator here, like he was in the controversy over zoo parking on the Overton Park greensward.

Also unfortunately, the Grizzlies have kept in the background during this whole mess — and will probably stay there, if they can. Look at it from their perspective: The Grizzlies have no reason to make concessions to EPE. Why would the Grizzlies give up its monopoly by giving a potential competitor a foothold?

Read more...

Elvis Presley Enterprises and the Memphis Grizzlies need to work out their issues, lots of candidates apply for open City Council seats, and more.

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