FedEx Forum
| The Grindhouse | |
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| Address | 191 Beale Street |
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| Location | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 35°8′18″N 90°3′2″W / 35.13833°N 90.05056°WCoordinates: 35°8′18″N 90°3′2″W / 35.13833°N 90.05056°W |
| Owner | City of Memphis |
| Operator | Memphis Basketball, LLC. |
| Capacity |
Basketball: 18,119 Ice hockey: 16,411 Concert: 19,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 20, 2002 |
| Opened | September 6, 2004 |
| Construction cost | US$250 million ($317 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Architect |
Ellerbe Becket Looney Ricks Kiss Jackson Person & Associates, Inc. Self Tucker Architects Inc. |
| Project manager | PC Sports |
| Structural engineer | ABS-EQE Structural Engineers |
| General contractor | M.A. Mortenson Company |
| Tenants | |
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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) |
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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 venue also has the capability of hosting ice hockey games, concerts, and family shows.
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 US$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).
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 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.
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