Memphis, Tenn. — Faster than you can say barbecue and Elvis, Memphis has gone from no NBA teams to having two franchises that have applied to move there.
After three decades of searching for big-time pro sports, the city learned Monday it could be the new home of the Vancouver Grizzlies or Charlotte Hornets.
"Memphis' best days are ahead of it, and this is another step in that evolutionary process," Mayor W.W. Herenton said.
The Grizzlies and Hornets both asked the NBA for permission to relocate to Memphis, effective next season.
Each team said it would play in The Pyramid, a $65 million arena opened in 1991, until a new stadium costing up to $250 million could be built. The Pyramid seats 19,000 for basketball.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley passed on Louisville, Ky., Anaheim, Calif., and New Orleans in choosing Memphis, which would be the NBA's smallest market.
The Hornets, meanwhile, want the option to move in case Charlotte voters reject a new $215 million downtown arena in a referendum in June, co-owner Ray Wooldridge said.
Wooldridge has said he wants to keep his team in Charlotte but that it needs a backup plan if the voters oppose a new stadium. Monday was the NBA deadline for teams to apply to move.
Financing for a new Memphis arena still is unsettled, but much of it would come from state and local government, through tax breaks and construction bonds. As now proposed, no referendum would be required, though the city council and county commission will have a say in the process.
"There are a number of details and intricate negotiations that will take place in the ensuing months. I hope Memphians will have an open mind," Herenton said.
Though Herenton said an NBA franchise would be an economic and public relations boost for the city, he noted some citizens undoubtedly will oppose construction of a new stadium.
Talk about a possible move by the Grizzlies has been swirling through Memphis, but there has been little mention of the Hornets.
"This is great news for Memphis because it makes it even more likely that Memphis will receive an NBA franchise," said Autozone founder J.R. "Pitt" Hyde, leader of a business group that has been searching for a team for the past year.
Hyde said at a news conference that his local investor group would buy "up to 50 percent" of a franchise, regardless of what team might move to Memphis.
An NBA relocation committee will be appointed in a week to review both applications and make a recommendation to the league's board of governors within four months.
Michael Glenn, a vice president of FedEx Corp., said the company has made a major commitment to buy naming rights for a Memphis team and the new stadium. Glenn declined to give figures. He also said any talk about a new team name is premature.
The Hornets say they need a new arena to be profitable. Wooldridge told The Charlotte Observer the team could lose as much as $40 million next season.
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