Calkins: Laird Veatch on the stadium, the future, realignment — and the Smith family gift
University of Memphis Athletic Director Laird Veatch has to raise another $50 million — to unlock a $50 million gift from the Fred Smith family — and figure out how to totally remake its new stadium while continuing to play in it. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Laird Veatch, the University of Memphis athletic director, is finally getting his hands on a football stadium and $120 million. Now all he has to do is raise another $50 million and figure out how to rebuild his new stadium on the fly.
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Geoff Calkins Laird Veatch University of Memphis athletics athletic director Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Fred Smith Memphis Tigers Subscriber OnlyWe’re in the final countdown of 2025. ⌛🪩🎉
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Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
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