The Early Word: Stadium’s flag comes down, and so does part of the airport
We’ve made it to another Friday! It’s July 19, and Memphis singer-songwriter Mark Edgar Stuart’s fifth album drops today. Our music critic Chris Herrington says it’s his best yet. EA Sports’ College Football 25 video game, which features several Memphis Tigers, drops today, too. Also tonight, The Genre is hosting a watch party for “Down in the Valley,” a docuseries spin-off of the “P-Valley” TV show that features scenes and actors from Memphis.
Start your Saturday with a hot cup of joe from the new Byway Coffee Co., which debuts in Overton Park at 9 a.m. A week ago today, we said goodbye to Memphis Made’s Midtown location, and this Saturday, we say hello to its new Edge District brewery during its grand opening party. Asian Night Market, which filled up Crosstown Concourse last year, returns for a second year in an even bigger venue. And on Saturday night, you can actually do the time warp at Time Warp Drive-in as they screen “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” (Is that meta?)
Sunday is National Ice Cream Day, and you’ll want to consult our guide to local shops that make their own before you seek out a cone. For more weekend fun, check out The To-Do List.
The American flag over Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium is more than 100 years old, but it has to come down while stadium renovations are underway. The press box, which sits under the flag, is being torn down, but Jeff Crane, the interim athletic director at the University of Memphis, says it will be preserved and moved somewhere else. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins offers a look at the flag’s history. And speaking of the stadium reno, the project is moving along to its second phase soon. That’ll include the creation of a new party plaza — an open area in the stands for fans to socialize while watching games.
Travelers passing through Memphis International Airport will see the first signs of the airport’s massive terminal renovation project this September. That’s when Concourse A, which has been mothballed since the renovated Concourse B opened in 2022, will be demolished. In the short term, the airport needs the land where Concourse A sits to stage construction of its terminal modernization. But eventually, the land may house new rental-car facilities and more.
Plus, Memphis-Shelby County Schools loses a Satan Club lawsuit, Zach Edey turns his other ankle and we’ve got a hot tip on cheap Italian food for pasta snobs.
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Bianca Phillips
Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian with two decades of experience in local journalism and public relations. She’s a diehard morning person who spends her free time training for marathons and ultras. And she’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South.”
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