David Holt is blogging again at WTL, and he has a great post about the Mayor's idiotic suggestion that we build a new stadium to replace the Liberty Bowl. Here's a taste:
Would 100 million dollars (I'm making that number up, but he didn't give a number) be better spent on building a football stadium for a college team (a pro-football team WILL NOT be coming to Memphis. The Titans are too close and we can barely support a pro basketball team in a basketball-crazy city) in a weak conference that has had a grand total of 3 winning seasons in my lifetime or would it be better spent improving our schools, providing prenatal care to poor mothers, job training, or attracting good jobs? Memphis has Autozone Park, the Liberty Bowl, the Coliseum, the Cannon Center, the Pyramid, and the Fed-Ex Forum. I'm sure I'm missing some. Did those cure the city's ails? It hardly looks like they did. Mr. Mayor, I've never been you're biggest fan, but lately I haven't had anything to be angry with you over. That just changed. Where the hell are real leaders in this city?
On top of this, Harold Byrd, who is a MAJOR supporter of the University of Memphis (and I mean academic, not just athletic) took the time to send a letter to U of M President Dr. Shirley Raines regarding the idea of a new Fairgrounds stadium, and he was NOT pleased. Part of his remarks here:
If the proposed new football stadium facility is being built for the University of Memphis Tiger football team, it should be built "on campus". Almost all major Universities including UT, Ole Miss, and Arkansas have on campus football and basketball arenas.
Its time for the University to stand up and be counted and look out for its own best interests....which by the way is also in the entire community's best interests as well, including the Liberty Bowl and the Southern Heritage Classic.
Had the correct decisions been made over the years, the University would have 1st class football and basketball facilities on campus. Instead, the University and unfortunately disgruntled taxpayers drive by a deteriorating Liberty Bowl Stadium and mothballed Pyramid.
News flash: if Harold Byrd, who was out of town at the time, took the time to write a letter to Shirley Raines to say what a bad idea this is, this stadium project is dead.
1 comment:
If you want Memphis to get pimped by financing a new sports stadium, look to the West Coast, ala Oakland, California, to be exact.
Al Davis has been pimping Oakland ever since he returned to the Bay Area with the Raiders, since Los Angeles was so concerned about having a football team to the point everyone yawned when the Rams left town.
You will be paying city taxes through the wazoo, and the owners will always be asking the city for something, paid for with your tax dollars...
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