Grizzlies fans, FedEx execs hope for safer season in downtown Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Basketball season kicks off this week and Grizzlies fans will soon pack FedExForum.

But at a time when downtown has seen it’s share of crime, some are wondering if a favorite team will keep people flocking to downtown.

“I’ve been coming to Memphis for two years now. Before I got here, people like, ‘Dude, you’re gonna die,'” Grizzlies fan Dwayne Bryant said. “I literally bought a bulletproof vest before I came to Memphis. I know that sounds crazy, that thing been sitting in the closet. I’ve never put it on.”

No one can deny conditions have changed in Downtown and safety has become a primary worry. Just this past weekend, a tourist from England was shot and injured on South Main.

Lindsay Whimple of Frayser said she enjoys exploring the downtown shops and Beale Street when she comes to games, “but not so much at night.”

There are plans to make millions of dollars in upgrades at FedExForum , many of them focused on security.

Just two years ago, FedEx moved its logistics operations across from FedExForum, hoping it could help energize downtown.

Wednesday, FedEx sent us a statement from Richard Smith, Chief Operating Officer International & Chief Executive Officer Airline.

“This is an important moment for Memphis, to reclaim our pre-pandemic momentum downtown and to reimagine what it could be. It’s incumbent on all of us, business and community leaders and elected officials alike, at both local and state levels, to step up and seize it,” Smith said.

Some now hope the Grizzlies excitement can turn things around, bringing back to downtown those who can afford to attend the games and the benefit of the dollars that come with them.

“People with money will come. So I think Memphis is gonna benefit, because you’ll see infrastructure, you’ll see new buildings, you’ll see a lot of new great things happening,” Bryant said. “This is America. People love entertainment, so as long as there’s entertainment, good entertainment, people gonna come, and then what you gonna have is police gonna cordon off every block so that the people feel safe.”

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