Robert Uhlmann, a Memphis attorney and 1975 graduate of The University of Memphis Law School, has not seen much change in the Liberty Bowl Stadium over the last 30 years.
"I have been coming to see The University of Memphis play here since I was a student," said Uhlmann. "The stadium has stayed relatively the same."
Uhlmann's comment that the stadium has not changed very much in decades is an observation that has recently caused much unrest in the city and county governments.
Cato Johnson, co-chair of the Fairgrounds Commission, said the question of what to do with the Liberty Bowl Stadium has been a primary concern of city and county governments for over two years.
According to Johnson, the city and county mayors established the Sports Recreation and Entertainment Venue Committee two years ago and gave it two major charges.
The first was to look at what should be done with the pyramid and the second was to decide what should be done about the fairgrounds property. Johnson was named chairman of the committee.
"They gave us the task of deciding what the highest and best use for the 170 acres of fairgrounds property is," said Johnson.
Johnson's committee spent a year gathering information and data and presented their results to the city and county mayors, city council and county commission in January of last year.
"We decided not to make a recommendation on what to do with the Liberty Bowl," said Johnson. "At that time, we did not feel that it was in the best interest of the city to build a new stadium."
Since then, the city and county governments have established the Fairgrounds Commission and appointed Johnson and Robert Lipscomb, the city's chief financial planner, the co-chairs.
"Our job is to come up with a recommendation for the Liberty Bowl Stadium, but also design and implement a master plan for the fairgrounds," said Johnson.
While the Sports, Recreation and Entertainment Venue Committee did not see tearing down the Liberty Bowl Stadium and building a new one as a viable option in 2005, the idea has been recently gaining support and endorsement from a variety of sponsors, especially Memphis city mayor Willie Herenton.
"In order for the Liberty Bowl to meet the American Disability Association's standards, the city will have to spend between fifteen and twenty million dollars," said Johnson. "Additionally, another twenty million dollars is needed to make necessary renovations to the Liberty Bowl's facilities.
"The prevailing thought is that if we are going to spend between forty and fifty million dollars making changes to the Liberty Bowl, why not look at facilities that were built for the same price?"
According to Johnson, the commission has been looking at several stadiums that were built for around $50 million, including those at the University of Central Florida and University of Louisville.
"The mayor has said that he would like a new master plan for building a new football stadium on fairgrounds within 45 days (as of January 1)," said Johnson.
Johnson said that the commission is also currently looking into how a new stadium would be financed, how building a new stadium would affect the Liberty Bowl's Southern Heritage Classic and what role The University of Memphis would play in the new stadium.
"It has not been finalized yet whether or not the Liberty Bowl Stadium will be torn down, but we do not envision building a stadium anywhere else in the county," said Johnson. "The fairgrounds property is the perfect location whether we keep the current stadium, or tear it down and build an entirely new one."
