Downtown Memphis · Sports & Game Day

Downtown Memphis Sports: AutoZone Park & FedExForum

Two of the best venues in the Mid-South sit within walking distance of each other in the heart of downtown. This guide to downtown Memphis sports covers AutoZone Park, home of Redbirds baseball, and FedExForum, home of the Grizzlies and the Memphis Tigers — and why living at The Exchange Building means walking to the game instead of fighting for parking.

A local game-day guide from The Exchange Building · 9 N 2nd Street, Memphis, TN 38103

AutoZone Park: Memphis Redbirds baseball

Opened in 2000 at the corner of Union and Third, AutoZone Park is regularly ranked among the finest minor-league ballparks in the country. It's the home of the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, and a summer evening in its open-air seats — skyline behind you, the smell of the grill, an affordable ticket in hand — is one of the great downtown experiences.

The park seats around 10,000, with a grassy berm in the outfield for families, local food and craft-beer stands, and some of the best people-watching in the city. Promotions run all season — fireworks nights, giveaways, and themed games — and because it's a Cardinals farm club, you'll often catch tomorrow's big-leaguers before they're famous. Schedules and tickets are at the Redbirds' official site.

What to know before a Redbirds game

A few tips make a first visit easy. Gates open well before first pitch, so come early to watch batting practice and stake out a spot on the outfield berm — the best cheap seat in the house, especially for families with restless kids. The concourse leans into local flavor, with Memphis barbecue and regional craft beer alongside the usual ballpark fare. Friday-night fireworks and frequent giveaways are worth planning around, and because most games fall on weeknight or weekend evenings, a downtown resident can decide to go an hour beforehand and still make first pitch.

FedExForum: Grizzlies, Tigers & concerts

A few blocks south, next to Beale Street, FedExForum is downtown's big-league arena. Opened in 2004, it's home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis Tigers men's basketball team, and it doubles as the city's premier concert hall. With roughly 18,000 seats for basketball, it brings genuine major-league energy to the middle of downtown.

Grizzlies games are loud, proud, and unmistakably Memphis — "Grit and Grind" is a way of life here. Tigers basketball gives the building a college atmosphere all winter, and between games the arena hosts family shows and some of the biggest touring concerts to come through the Mid-South. Find Grizzlies schedules at nba.com/grizzlies and the full events calendar at fedexforum.com.

Grizzlies and Tigers: two seasons in one arena

The arena effectively runs two basketball seasons under one roof. From fall into spring, the Grizzlies bring NBA stars and a famously loud home crowd; the franchise's "Grit and Grind" identity grew out of years of hard-nosed, defense-first playoff teams that the city took to heart. Overlapping it through the winter, the University of Memphis Tigers fill the building with college energy and decades of local hoops tradition. For a neutral fan, it means top-level basketball most nights from November into April without ever leaving downtown — and a different atmosphere depending on who's at home.

Game day in downtown Memphis

What makes Memphis special on game day is that everything is right there. Before first pitch or tip-off, you can grab a plate of barbecue, catch live blues, and soak up the pre-game buzz — all on foot. After the final out or the final buzzer, Beale Street is the natural after-party, and the rest of downtown's bars and restaurants are minutes away.

Because AutoZone Park and FedExForum sit only a few blocks apart, downtown turns into one big sports district on a busy night. The Main Street trolley and the walkable grid mean you can skip the parking-garage scramble entirely. For a wider list of ways to fill an afternoon, see things to do in downtown Memphis, and plan your dinner from our best restaurants downtown.

The pre-game ritual is part of the fun. Locals make an afternoon of it — a barbecue lunch, a walk through the historic core, maybe a set of live blues — before drifting toward the gates as the streets fill with jerseys. Afterward the energy spills back out into downtown, and on a big night the whole district hums until last call. It's the kind of seamless evening that only works when the venues sit in the middle of a real neighborhood.

Walking from your apartment

This is where living downtown pays off. From Court Square and The Exchange Building, AutoZone Park is less than half a mile away — a stroll of under ten minutes. FedExForum is a touch farther, roughly a fifteen-minute walk down toward Beale. On game nights, when traffic clogs the on-ramps and garages fill up, walking home is the ultimate luxury.

It also changes how often you go. When a ticket is a ten-minute walk instead of a cross-town commitment, a Tuesday-night Redbirds game becomes a spur-of-the-moment plan. For getting around on the rare night you don't walk, see getting around downtown Memphis.

Tickets & seasons

Knowing the calendar helps you plan your year:

• Memphis Redbirds (baseball): the Triple-A season runs from late spring through early fall, with dozens of home dates at AutoZone Park. Tickets are family-friendly and easy to grab same-day.
• Memphis Grizzlies (NBA): the regular season runs from fall into spring, with playoff basketball possible beyond that.
• Memphis Tigers (college basketball): the home slate fills the winter at FedExForum.
• Concerts & events: the arena books major tours and family shows year-round — check the calendar so you don't miss a date.

Buy direct through the official sites linked above to avoid resale markups, and watch for weeknight value games and promotional nights.

Seating suits every budget. At AutoZone Park, the outfield berm and upper concourse are famously affordable while the lower bowl puts you close to the action; at FedExForum, prices climb toward the floor, but the upper levels still offer a great view of the city's biggest games. On the rare night you'd rather not walk, several garages and surface lots ring both venues, and the trolley and rideshare make the trip easy — though with home only a few blocks away, most residents simply walk.

Other big sporting events downtown

Beyond the two anchor venues, downtown hosts marquee events all year. The biggest is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend each December, when tens of thousands of runners wind through downtown streets to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — historically finishing inside AutoZone Park. Add the riverfront festivals of Memphis in May and a steady stream of road races, and downtown stays in motion. (The college-football tradition of the Liberty Bowl is a Memphis institution too, though it's played at the stadium in Midtown.)

The calendar keeps filling out, too. Playoff runs by the Grizzlies or a deep Tigers season can stretch the basketball schedule into spring, charity and holiday road races thread through the downtown streets, and the riverfront hosts run-walks and fitness events much of the year. Combined with the festivals in our downtown events and festivals guide, it means there's nearly always something happening within a few blocks of Court Square.

Living steps away at the Exchange

Put it all together and the case for downtown makes itself. The Exchange Building, a 1910 Beaux-Arts landmark on Court Square Park at 9 North Second Street, sits within an easy walk of both AutoZone Park and FedExForum — plus Beale Street, the riverfront, the trolley, and the Renasant Convention Center. For a sports fan, that's the dream: roll out of your apartment, walk to the game, and walk home.

The Exchange leases direct — no broker fees — with an on-site team and a simple online process, and the building carries a century of downtown history you can read about on our history page. If your ideal night ends with a short walk home from the ballpark, this is the address for it.