Pyramid Arena
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The Pyramid Arena is a 20,000 seat arena located in downtown Memphis at the banks of the Mississippi River. The facility was built in 1991 and is owned and operated jointly by the city of Memphis and Shelby County.
The 32 story Pyramid is the third largest pyramid in the world and is taller than the Statue of Liberty. It was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and later for the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies. However, both teams left The Pyramid in November 2004 to move into the newly built FedExForum.
The seating capacitiy for concerts can be up to 21,000.
Its unique structure plays on the city's namesake in Egypt, known for its ancient Pyramids.
The arena hosted the 1993 Great Midwest Conference Men's and Women's basketball tournaments, the 1999 Conference USA men's basketball tournament, and the 2003 Conference USA women's basketball tournament. It also held the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in 1995, 1997, and 2001.
Since the recently completed FedExForum has overtaken the Pyramid as the city's primary indoor sports arena, the Pyramid does not currently have any long term tenants. According to The Commercial Appeal, a committee studying possible uses of the arena is planning to make its report and recommendation to the city government in July of 2005, with a public presentation to follow in September. Some uses the committee has examined include converting the arena into a casino, an aquarium, a shopping center, or an indoor theme park.
External link
- The Pyramid (http://www.pyramidarena.com)
- Commercial Appeal article on possible uses (requires registration) (http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/business/article/0,1426,MCA_440_3788737,00.html)