Civic pride

Memphis throws its hat in the ring

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- It is a fight with a lot of money and reputations on the line. Titles are up for grabs. And frankly, it’s a fight -- the biggest ever, if you believe the hype -- saddled with inherent risk and a potential PR nightmare.

Forget about Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. The fighters are each guaranteed a minimum $17.5 million for stepping into the ring. The real risk-takers here are the city of Memphis and its mayor, Willie Herenton.

When Las Vegas, Detroit and Washington, D.C., backed out for various reasons, only this city on the bluffs of the Mississippi remained as the possible host for Tyson-Lewis. Mayor Herenton’s lobbying pitch eventually won out, selling city officials that the potential rewards outweighed the danger of inviting Tyson, convicted rapist and bad boy of boxing, to do business in the municipality.

BQ, Elvis and Tyson Click the image to launch the clip Memphis officials hope the Lewis-Tyson fight will raise the city's profile. Start Video Plus Visit Video Plus for all the latest video and audio.

Hey, even at this late hour, something could happen to put the kibosh on the fight. Something as innocent even as a bum shoulder or a twisted ankle. Or who knows, maybe the unpredictable Tyson goes off and fattens his rap sheet.

"If something does go wrong with security or with accommodations, transportation or with something like that, someone is going to be looking and we might end up being the scapegoat," said Rick Masson, the city’s chief administrative officer. "If you’re going to make a profit or a gain, you have to be willing to take some risks. Our mayor has wanted to do that."

The mayor, himself a former Golden Gloves champ, has been up front about this being a business decision, not a morality play. If Nevada boxing authorities refused to have Tyson and others were nearly as cold, fine. That was the only way the fight would play Memphis, anyway.

This is a second-tier city where the prime tourist attraction is Graceland, the old digs of Elvis Presley. It’s claim to sports fame is tied up in an abysmal relocated NBA team, the SEC basketball tournament, an NCAA regional hoops final and the middle-of-the-road Liberty Bowl.

Now the city stands afforded a chance to host its first heavyweight title fight. Officials are calling Tyson-Lewis the largest-ever event in these parts and the fight is projected to have a local economic impact of at least $10 million. The sales tax from the fight tickets, alone, is projected to produce $4 million in state and local revenue.

Also profiting is Tunica County, Miss., home to 10 riverboat casinos, that rise up amid cotton fields about 40 miles south of Memphis. The county ranked as the poorest in the state until legalized gambling took hold 10 years ago. State law says casino floors have to float on water, so creative developers built small lakes, put casino floors atop barges and then added hotels and resort amenities on adjoining property.

Tyson and Lewis have set up camp at two of the major casinos leading up to the fight. And if all goes well, Memphis and its casino neighbors could emerge as a new fight mecca.

"The phones are ringing off the hook, people looking for tickets and accommodations," boasts Don Barton, chief operating officer of Fitzgerald’s Casino/Hotel, where Tyson trains. "All of them want to see one of the main attractions of the century. And we want to show the world that this part of the South will shine."

However, the early talk of a Saturday night sellout at The Pyramid has proven to be typical fight-game hyperbole, even though officials remain bullish on the financial prospects. It is believed that at least 5,000 of the 20,000-plus tickets remain unsold, and most are in a pricier range that don’t figure to attract a late walk-up.

A slew of empty seats won’t do much for the image of Memphis, which like other mid-major cities has struggled to attract major sporting events and professional franchises. It tried unsuccessfully for years to land a NFL franchise and just last year inherited the NBA’s Grizzlies, recently luring Jerry West to run the franchise. So staging a title fight of this magnitude has pumped civic pride.

"Obviously, we saw an economic development opportunity and then the indirect impact of Memphis being considered for an event such as this," Masson says. "This is undoubtedly the biggest event in the city’s history. Quite candidly, there wasn’t anything like it on the horizon. So why not take the risk?"

The risk?

Security is a huge concern, of course, and folks who oversaw security for the Salt Lake Olympics have briefed local police officials. But the city and its mayor have also sold themselves to Tyson, and if the ex-champ behaves badly in or outside of the ring -- or the following he attracts turns ugly on the streets -- it’ll reflect negatively on all parties.

"If something goes wrong at a fight in Las Vegas, and sometimes things do go wrong, it is: ‘Well, that is boxing,' " Masson laments. "It’s no reflection on the city. But if it happens here, it could become a reflection on the city. That is the risk we take."

And so, along with the promoters, the media conglomerates and his own vast entourage, you can add a southern city to the lengthy list of those banking on Iron Mike.

Mike Fish is a senior writer for CNNSI.com.

Comments? To e-mail Fish, click here.

 

Related information

Stories

SI's Phil Taylor: Just say no SI's Richard Hoffer: Sizing up Iron Mike SI's Tim Layden: Glimmer of greatness Tyson possessed long ago is gone Q&A with SI's Richard Hoffer

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video