A quarter-century ago, AutoZone Park gave Downtown a jump-start
On April 1, 2000, the Redbirds opened AutoZone Park at Third Street and Union Avenue in Downtown Memphis by playing the Cardinals in an exhibition game before a full house. (The Daily Memphian file)
After decades of decline, Downtown started to rebound — and perhaps nothing spurred the comeback quite like the 2000 opening of AutoZone Park at Third and Union. The whole atmosphere changed. Or as now-retired AutoZone executive Ray Pohlman remembers: “Downtown was cool ... it just flourished.”
Topics
AutoZone Park Downtown Memphis Redbirds Ray Pohlman Allie Prescott Paul Young Kevin Kane Craig Unger Ben Johnson Subscriber OnlyThank you for being a subscriber to The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization with a hybrid business model, we rely on a mix of revenue from subscriptions (50%), advertising, events and miscellaneous earned income (25%) and fundraising (25%).
Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian today.
👉 Your subscription pays for you to read all our journalism.
👉 Your donation powers the work we do to reach everyone else with the news.
We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. If you agree, join our growing list of donors now.
Don Wade
Don Wade has been a Memphis journalist since 1998 and he has won awards for both his sports and news/feature writing. He is originally from Kansas City and is married with three sons.
Comments
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.