Renovation or demolition for the coliseum?
One of the bubbling issues regarding the city of Memphis’ plan to redevelop the fairgrounds is the proposal to demolish the shuttered Mid-South Coliseum and replace it with a multiuse building.
The idea has not gone over well with those who think the arena, which opened in 1964 and was the area’s premier sports/entertainment venue until The Pyramid opened in 1991, should be saved.
Robert Lipscomb, director of the city’s Housing and Community Development Division, has said it would be cheaper to demolish the coliseum and build a new facility that meshes with an amateur-sportsthemed, $233 million redevelopment proposal for the fairgrounds.
Lipscomb, who is spearheading the redevelopment project, may be right, but there are examples in other cities where old arenas and entertainment venues have found new life after renovation costs ranging from $2 million to $18 million.
As Lipscomb continues to push the long-stalled redevelopment plan to fruition, it would not be a bad idea to put the coliseum argument to rest by commissioning another, more public study on the pros and cons of keeping the coliseum or demolishing it.
The issue came up again after Lipscomb, accompanied by Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau president Kevin Kane, Wednesday updated Shelby County commissioners on the development plan.
The bulk of the estimated $176 million in public funding would come from a tourism development zone (TDZ) from which sales taxes would be used to pay off bonds for the project, which would also include a retail-commercial component. The TDZ, which must be approved by the state Building Commission, also protects taxpayers from footing any costs for the redevelopment.
Some county commissioners have worried that if the project is approved, the TDZ would take away sales tax revenue that would otherwise go to county schools. Cityandcountyofficialsarenegotiatingtosee if the countywill be reimbursed for that lost revenue.
The coliseum has tremendous nostalgic cachet. Before closing in 2006, the arena hosted iconic entertainers, UniversityofMemphisbasketball, icehockey, indoor soccer, college and high school graduations, and professional wrestling matches.
Nine years ago, it was estimated that it would cost between $600,000 and $1 million to demolish the building. The estimated cost to renovate the coliseum ranged from some $10 million to some $25 million. The figures did not include an estimated $5 million to $10 million to bring the building up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Given the passage of time and the fact that the interior of the building is a holy mess, those costs surely have risen.
Lipscomb told commissioners that a new multipurpose building would be used by the U of M women’s basketball team, as well as indoor sports events and local school graduations. The new building’s interior also would have the flexibility to be reconfigured for other types of events.
The question here is one of nostalgia versus financial prudence.
Is renovation more financially sound than building a new facility, or is the opposite a better option?
Will a multipurpose building be more functional than an arena, or can the coliseum be transformed into a multiuse building for a reasonable cost?
AsLipscombpushesthefairgroundsredevelopment forward, he could alleviate some of the skepticism abouttheplanbyhavingthecoliseumissuesettledwith a more definitive study, and share it with the public.