Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual Liberty Bowl, the annual Southern Heritage Classic, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team of the American Athletic Conference. It has also been the host of several attempts at professional sports in the city, as well as other local football games and other gatherings.
Former names
Memphis Memorial Stadium (1965–1975)
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (1975–2022)
335 South Hollywood Street
University of Memphis
1963
September 16, 1965
1987
Yeates, Gaskill & Rhodes[5]
Bounds & Gillespie Architects (1987 renovations)
Tom Marshall, O.T. Marshall Architects (2013 improvements and Tiger Lane)
History[edit]
The stadium was originally built as Memphis Memorial Stadium in 1965 for $3 million, as a part of the Mid-South Fairgrounds, then home to one of the South's most popular fairs, but now conducted in neighboring DeSoto County, Mississippi. The fairgrounds also included the now-defunct Mid-South Coliseum (formerly the city's major indoor venue) as well as the now-closed Libertyland amusement park, which has been demolished and replaced with an amateur indoor sports venue. It was dedicated as a memorial to the citizens of Memphis who had served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
The facility was built partially as a way to bring the Liberty Bowl to a permanent home in Memphis (the game had started in Philadelphia, but because of poor attendance as a northern bowl, it left the city, playing one year in Atlantic City before settling in Memphis). The game was such a success for Memphis that the stadium was renamed Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in December 1975.[6] As originally built, the stadium was lopsided, with the southwest side being taller than the northeast side. A 1987 expansion brought it to its current, balanced configuration, although with a much greater hospitality building topping the northeast section.[7]
Its design is similar to that of old Tampa Stadium ("The Big Sombrero"), with the endzone grandstands being much shorter than the sidelines. The stadium is designed in such a way that all of its seats have a relatively good view of most of the playing surface. This is due primarily to two design factors. The stands are relatively steep for a one-tier, true bowl stadium. Also, there is little space between the side and end lines of the playing surface and the stands.
In December 1983, the playing field was renamed Rex Dockery Field in honor of Rex Dockery, a former Memphis Tigers football coach who had recently died in a plane crash. The field, which had been natural grass since its inception, was replaced with a FieldTurf surface before the 2005 season; this was subsequently replaced with the modern version of AstroTurf.
In 2013, the Liberty Bowl and its setting received a $38 million facelift. It was repainted, and new lighting, new elevators, new turf, renovation of luxury boxes, better handicapped access, were added as part of the design by Memphis architect Tom Marshall of O.T. Marshall Architects. In addition, two new video boards were added, costing $2.5 million and including a Jumbotron, contributed by FedEx, which is headquartered in Memphis. In addition, 17-acre (6.9 ha) Tiger Lane was created as a green space for tailgating and community events.
On December 19, 2023, the City of Memphis passed a vote to transfer ownership of the stadium to the University of Memphis.[8]
Tenants[edit]
Major tenants[edit]
Since its opening, the stadium has hosted the Memphis Tigers football team from the University of Memphis. Before this, the team had spent 29 seasons at Crump Stadium. It was not the first time the team had played at the fairgrounds; before playing at Crump, the team had played two seasons there at a former park.[9] As of the start of the 2006 season, the team had a 130-106-7 record at the stadium.
Also since its opening, the stadium has hosted the Liberty Bowl game. It annually hosts teams from the SEC and Big 12 conference.
Since 2006, the second bid has gone to a team from the SEC, setting up an all-Southern bowl game. As of 2010, the SEC has the right to override the Conference USA champion and instead replace them with an opponent from the Big East Conference, now the American Athletic Conference. At the same time, the PapaJohns.com Bowl was given the option of a Conference USA team instead of a Big East team.[10] They chose not to do this for the first year of this arrangement, allowing C-USA champions UCF to play Georgia.
The stadium is also the host of the "Southern Heritage Classic", a game between two historically black schools, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Tennessee State University. The stadium also has hosted home games of the Tennessee Vols, Ole Miss Rebels, and Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football played in the stadium for its sole season in 2019.[11]
Concerts[edit]
The stadium played host to The Monsters of Rock Festival Tour, featuring Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and Kingdom Come, on July 9, 1988.
As of 2021, it is considered highly unlikely that there will be a permanent NFL franchise in the stadium or in the city. The stadium is more than adequate for the Tigers, a team which is currently playing in one of the larger stadiums in its current conference, the American Athletic Conference. The Liberty Bowl game is well-attended and averages crowds just under the stadium's maximum capacity. There are a variety of factors that play into the city's prospects, including:
On January 1, 2007, then-Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton proposed a new stadium be built in place of the old one. Some in the University of Memphis community prefer the construction of a smaller, on-campus stadium, but such a venue would almost certainly be inadequate (in terms of capacity and amenities) for the Liberty Bowl. Although this proposal did not move ahead, the long-term future of Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is currently unclear. However, it is thought that a separate on-campus stadium for the Tigers would be fiscally unrealistic if a new municipal stadium were to be built in addition to it.
The most recent professional tenant was the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football, which played its home games played in the stadium for its sole season in 2019.[11]
It was announced on October 1, 2021 that Simmons Bank and the City of Memphis were in advanced negotiations to have Simmons Bank become the title sponsor for the stadium and renaming it from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to become Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.[14][15]
On May 12, 2022 officials revealed plans to renovate the stadium before the 2025 football season, costing around $200 million. Completed with help of architecture firm Populous, plans include:
Construction should begin after the 2023 football season; the Tigers will continue to play in the stadium during renovations. Seating capacity is expected to remain above 50,000 after the renovations are finished.[16]
In the same vote that transferred ownership to the University of Memphis, the City of Memphis also approved $120 million in funding for stadium renovations. In addition, the university received a $50 million grant ahead of the vote from FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith, with the stipulation that they would only receive the money when the university raises another $50 million.[17]