Memphis holds groundbreaking for Liberty Stadium renovations: 'A lot of great days ahead'

Ryan Silverfield knew Memphis had to start renovating Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium as soon as possible.

"People say, 'Could you have waited?' "You can't wait on something like this," Silverfield said after an official groundbreaking event Thursday afternoon at the stadium. "If someone wants to hand you $1 million, if someone wants to hand you $1, if someone wants to hand you $200 million, you take it and you start on this thing."

Silverfield, university president Bill Hardgrave, athletic director Ed Scott and FedEx CEO Richard Smith all spoke at the event, which was held just over a week before Memphis football kicks off its 2024 season against North Alabama. It's also a few days after the university officially finished the first demolition phase of the project, and nearly the entire west side of the stadium is now missing.

Rebuilding that part of the stadium won't start until early next year. The project is expected to be completed before the 2026 football season.

"I love to compete," Scott said after the ceremony. "And this project is going to allow us to compete at a higher level. Folks want to talk about conference realignment. We've got to show investment for that next round of realignment, if and when that happens."

Both university and city officials have said they needed to fund the stadium renovations to help the Tigers get out of the American Athletic Conference and into a power conference. The deal to fund the renovations had stalled until late last year, when FedEx Founder Fred Smith and his family announced a $50 million donation to kickstart the project. The university needs to fundraise an additional $50 million as part of the gift, and the city contributed $120 million of the $350 million it received from the state to fund various stadium renovation projects in the city.

That isn't the only major donation Smith and his family have made toward the university. In April, FedEx announced a landmark deal to contribute $25 million over five years for name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with Tigers athletes. But Richard Smith said during the ceremony that he and his family are "especially proud" of the stadium donation.

"Despite being a global company with an immense reach, FedEx and our family are incredibly proud to call Memphis, Tennessee home," he said. "FedEx and our family, we continue to invest in this community because we love it, and because we believe in it."

The ceremony ended with officials taking part in a photo-op with hard hats and shovels, signifying the next stage of the project.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Hardgrave said during the ceremony. "And after the stadium gets renovated, we certainly have a lot of great days ahead for the Memphis Tigers on this field. Starting this season. Right coach?"

Silverfield, sitting in the front row, responded, "Yes sir."

"I'm not sure expectations have ever been higher for the football team," Hardgrave said.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis holds groundbreaking for Liberty Stadium renovations: 'A lot of great days ahead'