The city of Memphis is preparing to tear down the Mid-South Coliseum and replace it with a new $52 million soccer stadium for Memphis 901 FC.
Since closing in 2006, the historic coliseum has been nothing more than a glorified storage unit with Memphians either wanting restoration or demolition.
CLICK HERE to download the FREE KWAM NewsTalk Memphis App!Mayor Jim Strickland has pushed for a brand new stadium for the soccer team that would finally put the old stadium to rest.
However, one problem is that 901 FC only had an average attendance in 2022 of 3,683 fans. The new facility is expected to have a capacity between 6,500 and 8,000.
With crime being out of control and city leaders seemingly uninterested to do anything about it, the priority for most citizens has shifted away from what to do with the stadium.
The public took to social media to slam the decision.“Wow… what not a great way to help the community of Memphis..” one person wrote on Facebook. “By wasting tax payer money instead of using it to lift people out of addiction, assisting with education and training. Place more available businesses that invest more and take less.”
“So many long-suffering and urgent needs for the city and this is what they come up with? Priorities run amok.” another user wrote.
“How awesome, except nobody will see it because it’s too dangerous to leave our homes,” said a frustrated commenter. “I want tax dollars used to hire high quality law enforcement, offer them competitive salaries, excellent training, a large juvenile detention facility to house all of the teenage violent criminals where they are held until trial, and work and learn important life skills until they have fulfilled their entire sentence. Anything else shows obscene tone deafness.”
