Cryin’ the Blues in Memphis

The main gate of AutoZone Park, Aug-2001.

Two decks of sky boxes rest atop the seating bowl.

The park was wedged into a downtown neighborhood.

• Location: Third and Union streets, Memphis, Tenn.
• Opened: 2000
• Home team: Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast League (2000-present)
• Capacity: 14,200

Rating: 3 baseballs

Maybe it was the weather (hot and sticky). Or perhaps it was the ineptitude of the staff. I asked for an outfield seat and was sold a more expensive outer infield seat. I requested a correction, and when I started to explain the delay to the person behind me in line, the clerk snapped at me.

Then I got inside and discovered that they had no whiteboard for the lineups, that the lineups were displayed on the scoreboard but were tough to read, and, worst of all, that the scoreboards (there are two of them) don’t always display the score of the game you’re watching. They aren’t regular scoreboards, they’re matrix boards, and they put up promos and St. Louis Cardinals scores and everything else.

The park itself has an expansive lower seating bowl capped by two levels of sky boxes, the first of which also contains “club level” seats (usually sold out). You can walk around the perimeter of the field, and the batter’s eye is made up of carefully positioned evergreen trees – a nice touch. The Redbirds also dispense with most of the on-field gimmicks between innings, allowing the intense fan to concentrate on the game.

It’s not really a bad park, and I’m sure it will serve Memphis for years to come. They love it there because it’s a vast improvement over old Blues Stadium. But I just wasn’t as impressed by it as most fans to whom I’ve spoken.