Competitors don’t know yet exactly how the 2023 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will look or how it’s going to be set up at the redesigned Tom Lee Park, but this is certain:

It will be smaller.

On March 7, the damage cost agreement between Memphis in May and the Memphis River Parks Partnership was approved by the Memphis City Council, clearing the way for the May festival’s riverfront event to move forward.

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But just before that, some barbecue teams received a letter letting them know that they didn’t make the cut for this year’s festival because there’s not enough room in the park for them. 

The number of teams that will be allowed to compete for 2023: 140. 

Memphis in May officials have been saying for several years that the redesign of Tom Lee would mean less space for the Beale Street Music Festival and its four-day barbecue festival.

That’s despite the fact that, in December 2019, Memphis In May, MRPP and the City signed a mediation agreement in which the parties agreed to specific design accommodations for the barbecue competition and Beale Street Music Festival. That agreement requires “provisions for 6,500 linear feet and 275,000 square feet” for barbecue teams.

Carol Coletta, president and CEO of Memphis River Parks Partnership, said that MRPP has exceeded that, providing 6,582 linear feet within the park (10,182 including footage along Riverside Drive but outside the park) and 308,764 square feet.

“We’ve exceeded both expectations, so to continue to insist that the park design doesn’t meet the specifications, well, I’m baffled,” she said.

Last week, 35 barbecue cooking teams received an email letting them know that they wouldn’t be able to participate this year. The letter said that “unfortunately, the new Tom Lee Park was not designed to specifications provided by Memphis in May,” and asked those teams to decide if they wanted a refund or to go onto a wait list.

Richard Ralph’s Serial Grillers, which has competed under that name for 20 years, was one of the teams that got that email. 

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“It was a shock, no doubt,” Ralph said. “We won ribs in 2015 and came in second in 2012. We’re a family team but we’re serious, very competitive.

“I got my email Friday afternoon, and I called my sponsor, called my teammates. Then I just left town and went camping.”

Serial Grillers is sponsored by Southern Towing Co., a Memphis-based towboat and barge operator, and they run a big barbecue booth to entertain customers from across the country.

In its letter, Memphis in May offered teams the chance to get on a waiting list in case there were cancellations, but Ralph said they can’t do that.

“This is the time to start sending out invitations and getting hotels booked,” he said. “We usually have 100 or more hotel rooms for just our guests, and we feed about 300 people a night.”

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Randy Blevins, vice president of marketing and programming for Memphis in May, said the application process hasn’t changed, that it’s always been that teams pay their deposit with their application and if they’re not accepted, their money is returned to them.

This year, the second paragraph of the application read: “Due to space limitations, not all applications received will be accepted. Entry preference is given to those who complete this application and remit payment earliest, as well as past World Champions and top winners from the previous year.”

Deciding how to “accommodate the reduced number of teams that will fit in the new Tom Lee Park” isn’t an exact science, Blevins said.

“The criteria Memphis in May took into consideration when making the final selection included teams that placed in the top 10 in 2022, past grand champions, requested booth size and space available, and participation in the 2022 contest in Liberty Park,” he said.

“But it wasn’t limited to that. We also took in account the number of years they’ve participated, the date their application was received, commercial sponsorships and even other factors.”

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At its largest, about 250 teams competed at Memphis in May, and in recent years it’s been closer to 230 as booth sizes have gotten larger. The festival was canceled for COVID in 2020.

When it returned in 2021, due to an agreement with the Shelby County Health Department that severely cut the number of teams that could participate, it required social distancing and limited the number of people allowed in tents and in the park. That year, there about 135 teams.

Last year, the festival was held at Liberty Park while work was underway on Tom Lee Park. While participation was reduced because of the change of venue, 212 teams competed there.

Ralph, who signed up for the largest site available, said he’s disappointed but he’s not angry.

“I can be upset that I’m not in it, but I’m not mad at Memphis in May. I think it’s out of their hands. They’re caught between a rock and hard place if they’re not being given the real estate to do it.

“I just don’t know what I’ll do with myself the third weekend of May. It’s going to be strange.”