Memphis misses out on possible payment of $800K from Grizzlies
The University of Memphis athletic department missed out entirely on an $800,000 payment from the Memphis Grizzlies due to poor attendance at men’s basketball games this past season, according to turnstile attendance figures obtained by The Commercial Appeal through an open records request with the university.
It’s the first time since Memphis began playing its home games at FedExForum in 2004 that the school did not receive any money from the Grizzlies as part of its lease agreement.
Memphis averaged 4,583 fans over 19 regular-season home games based on its turnstile count, which measures the number of fans who physically attended each game.
According to the university’s FedExForum lease, Memphis is due an $800,000 payment from the Grizzlies if it averages more than 10,000 fans. If it averages between 6,000 and 10,000 fans, the school receives a reduced payment in proportion to the shortfall. If average attendance is below 6,000, Memphis gets no money from the Grizzlies.
If the average turnstile count is below 6,000 in two consecutive seasons, the Grizzlies have the option to terminate the school’s lease.
Memphis received a $368,449 payment from the Grizzlies when it had an announced attendance of 9,622 per game during the 2016-17 season, according to documents filed with the NCAA and obtained through an open
records request.
The athletic department received a $349,972 payment from the Grizzlies during former coach Josh Pastner’s final season in 2015-16 when average announced attendance was 12,028.
Former Memphis deputy athletic director Mark Alnutt confirmed last August that the Tigers’ turnstile attendance increased slightly between Pastner’s last year and former coach Tubby Smith’s first campaign as head coach.
That was not the case during the 2017-18 season, when Memphis finished with a 21-13 record but missed out on postseason play for the fourth-consecutive year.
Attendance at Tigers’ home games hit a 48-year-low this past season and decreasing fan support for the men’s basketball team was a major factor in the decision to fire Smith after only two years on the job.
University president M. David Rudd told reporters last month when Penny Hardaway was introduced as the school’s new head coach that the program was projected to lose $4.7 million in revenue this year. He also noted that season ticket sales fell to 4,115, a figure he called “the lowest in modern history for Tiger basketball.”
The average announced attendance this season was 6,225, which represented a drop of more than 60 percent from four years ago, when Memphis averaged more than 16,000 fans per game and ranked among the top 10 in the country in attendance.
“Certainly from a financial perspective, we need our fans back and we need them back now,” Rudd said.
As a result, Hardaway’s 3-year, $4.8 million contract includes lucrative incentives tied to attendance at Tigers’ home games.
If the average regular season turnstile attendance is above 12,000 fans per game during any year of the deal, Hardaway would receive a $300,000 bonus. If men’s basketball season ticket sales eclipse $5 million during any year of the contract, Hardaway would receive an additional $50,000 bonus.
The Tigers eclipsed 6,000 fans in just two games this year, according to the turnstile count.
Memphis had a season-high 9,536 fans in FedExForum when it lost to Cincinnati on Jan. 27, although the athletic department gave away 2,000 free tickets for that game. There were also 6,992 fans in attendance when the Tigers lost to LSU on Dec. 28.
On the other hand, there were eight home games in which fewer than 4,000 fans showed up to FedExForum. The lowest-attended game of the year came against UConn on Jan. 16, when poor *Exhibition game weather conditions also contributed to a small turnout.
Only 2,130 people were in attendance to watch the Tigers secure a convincing 73-49 win.