Coliseum Coalition meets to find ways to preserve arena
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Coliseum Coalition, a grassroots organization whose goal is to preserve and revitalize the MidSouth Coliseum, met Monday night to find ways to make their memories of the Coliseum matter to politicians in the upcoming city elections.
“A lot of this they (city officials) would say is nostalgia,” Coliseum Coalition President Michael McCarthy said during the meeting. “There’s a theory that says that you have to have dollars and cents over emotion, but what controls dollars? Emotion. Emotion wants to go see a wrestling match. Emotion wants to go see a basketball game. Emotion wants to go see a rock or soul concert.”
Karen Spencer-McGee was among many attendees who described the fondness many Memphians have for the building.
“When I did get a chance to go, oh boy, I was in heaven,” SpencerMcGee said just after the meeting, “When we see the Coliseum, we see something bigger than just a building, we see happy times and our beloved memories.”
But the meeting, held in the Orange Mound Community Center, wasn’t only an opportunity to look back.
Leslie Green, an Orange Mound resident with ambitions to bring semi-pro basketball to the former Fairgounds arena, said such a basketball team would keep kids occupied and bring revenue to Orange Mound.
Richard Pearce, a contractor who said he worked on the initial construction of the Coliseum, said that since the building has been inactive teenagers in nearby neighborhoods have one less option for summer jobs.
The city’s housing and community development director has said it won’t seek financing for a Fairgrounds redevelopment until after the election this fall. The city has also formed a Fairgrounds Redevelopment Advisory committee with eight subcommittees to look at the feasibility of think tank Urban Land Institute’s recommendations and come up with a new Fairgrounds plan.
The coalition will welcome further feedback in its quest to save the Coliseum at the Roundhouse Revival: Round 2, on Oct. 4 in a lot adjacent to the arena.