There will be new sound and new sandwiches at FedExForum this season. 

And for the first time in a while, you can get a Coke with that — oh, and tacos, too.

The popular fast-food franchise Chick-fil-A and the local taco-truck chain TacoNGanas are the most notable new vendors at FedExForum as another dual Grizzlies/Tigers basketball season begins and as concerts return to the building after a summer of sound and technical upgrades designed to provide major events with easier setup and sharper sound.

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Representatives of the Memphis Grizzlies and their food-and-beverage partner Levy Restaurants held court, though not on the court, at FedExForum Tuesday, debuting and discussing both new features at the arena and some recent changes that have been retained. 

TacoNGanas, whose taco-truck installations have become ubiquitous in the Memphis area in the past few years, will inhabit a high-profile concession era just left of the main entrance and will offer a la carte tacos ($5.99 each) in chicken, pork, steak and beef (barbacoa) varieties. 

Another local concessions staple will be newer. Rock’n Dough, which recently opened a restaurant in the nearby Edge District, came on board as the arena’s pizza partner in the middle of last season and returns with a dedicated concession stand on the east end of the building’s street-level “plaza” section, serving slices of pepperoni, cheese and barbecue chicken ($9 each) with the pizza cooked on site. 

Not all local concessions are new. Longtime barbecue partner Rendezvous returns, serving pork and chicken nachos ($14.99) and sandwiches on the plaza and terrace levels, adding brisket at its suite-level Pinnacle location. 

As for Chick-fil-A, the chain has been a sponsor but will offer concessions for the first time, at an east-side stand opposite Rock’n Dough. Available there will be a limited version of the restaurant menu with regular ($8.99) and spicy ($9.99) fried chicken sandwiches, grilled chicken wraps ($12.99 or $13.99 for spicy), waffle fries ($3.99), brownies, cookies and fruit cups.

There’s also a box meal available with a sandwich, potato chips and cookie for $15.99 (a dollar more for spicy). Spicy Southwest and Market salads ($16.99) will also be available. 

Like its standalone locations, Chick-fil-A will not be open Sundays, which will impact only four Grizzlies games this regular season. 

The arena’s previous beverage contract with Pepsi had recently ended. Jake Carlisle, director of arena food and beverage operations for Levy, said the change to Coca-Cola was driven by sponsorship-level decisions but the change has been well-received by customers so far with beverage sales at last week’s Grizzlies’ open practice exceeding previous such events. 

In addition to regular and Diet Coke, the soft-drink offerings include Cherry Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Fanta orange, Pibb Xtra and Minute Maid lemonade. 

New this season are self-serve stations for soft drinks that will service most concession stands and be available for refills.

“Self-serve” is a concept the building is leaning into even more this season. The previously installed “grab-and-go” stations for bottled and canned drinks and packaged snacks are expanding. 

“The self-checkout idea has really taken off,” said Carlisle, who said “speed of service, guest ease and guest control” were qualities Levy was pursuing throughout the arena. 

The Chick-fil-A salads and local Zio Matto gelato, also still scooped from its eye-catching plaza level cart, will be available at some grab-and-go stations.

Along those lines, the largest concession area on the upper terrace level is being turned into a kind of self-service food court with prepared Rock’n Dough slices, chicken wings and concession basics for patrons to self select before paying at a common checkout area. 

“The goal is to not get stuck,” Carlisle said. “On the terrace level there are a lot of people but not a lot of concession stands. We’ve done this in other arenas and we think this will be very successful.”

One item that may become popular isn’t a new food item but a new container, a Grizzlies souvenir bowl in two sizes, designed to resemble a half basketball grasped by a Grizzly claw. You can get those full of nachos at a Tostitos Arena Nachos cart or full of something fancier at what used to be carving stations on the Pinnacle and Event levels of the building.

These shareable “Memphis Big Bowls” will have different offerings from game to game. Opening night promises a full pork shank with cheese grits, roasted vegetables and a jalapeno cornbread biscuit.

While recognizable new partners draw attention, FedExForum has also made changes to its in-house concessions, mostly rebranded as “The Gourmet Grill” (at the main entrance opposite TacoNGanas and on the Pinnacle level), “The Grill” and “Classics.”

The Gourmet Grill will feature hand-breaded chicken tenders, half-pound gourmet burgers, sauced “boom boom” fried-chicken sandwiches and more. 

Burgers at other concessions will be thinner patties available in single ($9.99), double ($13.99) and triple ($17.99) varieties, while the chicken tenders will be the kind that have been common at the arena in previous seasons. The “Classics” concessions will also include hot dogs ($4.99) and catfish baskets ($17.99).

All burgers and chicken sandwiches at all Levy concessions this season will use locally sourced buns from Germantown’s D&R Bakery.

There’s a “Kids” booth that will feature rotating “fair-food” items such as mini corn dogs, tots, mac-and-cheese bites, churros and funnel-cake fries. Among the many smaller food-cart pop-ups will be a Smoke & Pour loaded baked potato cart on the terrace level. 

Food packages available in suites this season will include a Rendezvous spread and a “Southern Picnic Package.” The latter includes pimento-cheese mashed potatoes, smoked pork-loin baguettes, boneless fried chicken and Southern charcuterie boards with smoked sausage, chicken andouille sausage, pepper-jack cheese and crostini with various spreads. 

While TacoNGanas and Chick-fil-A will be the most visible changes at the arena as games begin this week, the most substantial changes are the new sound and rigging system.

The building was dark this summer while these new systems were being installed, uncertainty that led to the Grizzlies’ training camp moving to Nashville.

But it’s done now and will make it easier for concerts to be staged in the building. The sound system replaces the system installed with the building’s opening 20 years ago.

These systems will begin getting a workout as concerts resume at FedExForum this month. The first new show is R&B singer Maxwell Oct. 16. Other concerts scheduled for the rest of this year include Justin Timberlake in November and jam/bluegrass artist Billy Strings in December. 

Laura Ehret, the Grizzlies’ vice president of communications, labels the new sound system “a complete overhaul” that may make concerts sing but should pair well with hoops, too.

“I think it’s something that will help the fan experience (at basketball games) as well,” Ehret said.