Soulsville to greet rec center
Memphis Rox will offer sports, food, meditation
A benevolent ex-Hollywood director with strong Memphis ties will turn a failed Soulsville grocery into Memphis Rox, a community center complete with climbing gym; cafe; juice bar; meditation, yoga and dance space; and an area for outdoor events.
The project will cost $2.5 million to $4 million. But otherwise, money is no object. Youths unable to pay can still get access by participating in mentoring or doing community volunteer work.
Application for a permit for partial demolition was to be pulled Friday. If all goes to schedule, Memphis Rox will open by Thanksgiving.
Tom Shadyac (“The Nutty Professor,” “Liar, Liar,” “Bruce Almighty” and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”) is the driving force behind the 28,000-square-foot project to transform what was the bankrupt Town Center development into a safe place for recreation and mentoring
No? That’s about all the answer you need. It was Ryan Harrison, the last tennis champion this city will ever see. After 41 years, the Memphis tennis tournament is leaving, bound for Long Island, and there’s nobody at all to blame.
This is not Robert Irsay ripping the Colts out of Baltimore or Art Modell ripping the Browns out of Cleveland. This is neither a black eye nor a surprise.
“It’s disappointing,” said Doug Carpenter, founder of the advertising firm DCA, who is one of the local owners who stepped up to save the tournament when it changed hands in 2008. “For me, it’s frustrating. But I understand it fully. If it doesn’t support itself, it will inevitably leave.”
I first wrote about the possibility of the tennis tournament leaving Memphis in 2008. That was when Mac Winker sold the tournament to San Jose Sharks Sports & Entertainment. And that was three owners ago.
The current owner is GF Sports, whose president, Jerry Solomon, said he would do everything possible to keeping the tournament in Memphis, and who — along with energetic tournament director Erin Mazurek — was true to his word.
The owners renovated the building and cranked up the promotions. They built a new food and entertainment area called The Mo. But they never found a title sponsor, and that was that.
“If you don’t have a title sponsor in tennis, you’re not long for the world,” said Kevin Kane, head of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau. “I can tell you they turned over every rock in this region to get a title sponsor. The Memphis corporate community didn’t see a value to being a title sponsor because, I promise you, everyone was pitched on it.”
This isn’t a criticism of the Memphis corporate community, either. In the end, sponsorships have to make financial sense. And how much financial sense does tennis make these days?
The answer is in that hallway of pictures, and how the pictures change as the years go by. The stars who drew the throngs of fans are replaced by names you likely don’t recognize. Joachim Johansson in 2004. Kenneth Carlsen in 2005. Steve Darcis in 2008. Jurgen Melzer in 2012.
The best tennis players in the world no longer played Memphis. When they stopped coming, so did the throngs of fans. It’s remarkable the tournament lasted as long as it did.
Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia no longer have tennis tournaments. Neither do San Francisco, Denver or Indianapolis. This is not about Memphis, it is about the sport.
Which does not make it any less bittersweet, especially for those who love the game, and who remember what tennis used to mean in this town. This is the the tournament where 15year-old Michael Chang made his debut, where 17-year-old Agassi won his first major title, where Jimmy Connors beat Arthur Ashe in the 1979 final and then lost to John McEnroe in the final a year later.
Those were glorious times. But they were gone long before the tournament itself. The tournament that’s leaving is Ryan Harrison vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili.
So there was no great feeling of tragedy at the Racquet Club Friday afternoon. Just a sadness for old times, for a part of Memphis history that is now gone.
“Home of Memphis Open,” said one sign. “Celebrating 41 years,” said another. The 2017 tournament bracket still hung on the wall.
It was wistful, seeing all that. It was like watching time, sliding on past.
“Thanks for coming,” said another sign.
Hey, it was a blast.