SMG Signs One-Year Contract To Manage Liberty Bowl Stadium

The Memphis City Council's Parks Committee yesterday approved a one-year contract that will see SMG "take over management of Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and parts of the fairgrounds starting this fall," according to Jim Masilak of the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL. The deal still "requires final approval from the full City Council, but that is not expected to be a problem." SMG "will not receive a base management fee and will profit only if stadium revenues exceed an agreed-upon baseline figure" of $1.66M. SMG will "take home 20[%] of any revenues above that threshold, with the city keeping the rest." Memphis City Parks Dir Cindy Buchanan said that "that figure was reached following a review of revenues from previous years, ... and takes into account the makeup" of the Univ. of Memphis' (UM) '08 football schedule. Buchanan added that all three of the stadium's primary tenants -- UM, AutoZone Liberty Bowl and Southern Heritage Classic -- "have approved the management deal, although Liberty Bowl officials expressed some concerns about potential commercial conflicts." SMG Senior VP/Stadiums Shea Guinn: "There are opportunities over the long term to bring more events in there" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 6/18).