Sports in Memphis, Tennessee facts for kids
Sports in Memphis, Tennessee are supported in the city by Memphis Park Services, which offers a wide range of public facilities, including 17 swimming pools, 8 public golf courses, 48 athletic fields hosting a range of 510 youth and 269 adult teams, 130 basketball courts (101 outdoor and 29 indoor), 7 tennis centers and a soccer complex.
Memphis is also home to professional sports teams in basketball, baseball and other sports. Golf, basketball, baseball and tennis are popular recreational sports in Memphis.
Contents
Overview of Professional Teams
| Club | Sport | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis Grizzlies | Basketball | National Basketball Association | FedExForum |
| Memphis Redbirds | Baseball | Pacific Coast League | AutoZone Park |
| Mississippi RiverKings | Ice hockey | Southern Professional Hockey League | Landers Center |
| Memphis Blues | Rugby union | USA Rugby South | Tobey Field |
| R.M.K. Cham. and the Cellular S.C. | Tennis ATP & WTA | ATP 500 & WTA Int. | Racquet Club of Memphis |
Ice hockey
The Mississippi RiverKings are a professional hockey team of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The RiverKings play at the Landers Center in nearby Southaven, Mississippi.
Motorsports
Memphis is also home to Memphis Motorsports Park, just north of the city on the outskirts of Memphis and Millington, TN. The venue has a 3/4-mile (1207 m) paved oval track that annually hosts 2 NASCAR-sanctioned events, a Busch-series race (the Sam's Town 250) and a Craftsman Truck series race (the O'Reilly 200). It also has a 1/4-mile (402 m) drag strip that annually hosts the NHRA POWERade O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, as well as locally sanctioned events that run from February to November. Another racetrack in the Memphis metro area is Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. It is a 1/4 mile track that midget, sprint and stock-car races happen.
Roller Derby
Memphis has an active presence in the derby world courtesy of Memphis Roller Derby. The team is a sanctioned member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and competes in the South Central Region. The Memphis league has four home teams that compete in intra-league bouts, plus one travel team that competes in other cities.
Tennis
Memphis Park Services maintains seven public tennis centers. Memphis is home to the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup. The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships is an ATP event, and the Cellular South Cup is a WTA event. The senior event, the Stanford Championships started in Memphis, but it has since relocated to Dallas, Texas.
Overview of Collegiate Teams
| Club | Venue |
|---|---|
| Memphis Tigers men's basketball | FedExForum |
| Memphis Tigers women's basketball | Elma Roane Fieldhouse |
| Memphis Tigers Football | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| Memphis Tigers Baseball | FedExPark |
| Memphis Tigers Soccer | Mike Rose Soccer Complex |
| Memphis Tigers Softball | Tigers Softball Complex |
| Memphis Tigers Golf | Frank L. Flautt Golf Center |
| Memphis Tigers Tennis | Racquet Club of Memphis |
| Rhodes Lynx Basketball | Mallory-Hyde Gymnasium |
| Rhodes Lynx Football | Crain Field |
| Christian Brothers Buccaneers Basketball | Canale Arena |
| Christian Brothers Buccaneers Soccer | Signaigo Field |
| Christian Brothers Buccaneers Baseball | Nadicksbernd Field |
| Christian Brothers Buccaneers Softball | Bland Field |
Overview of defunct professional teams
| Sports Franchise | League | Year | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis Rogues | NASL | 1978–1980 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| Memphis Americans | MISL | 1981–1984 | Mid-South Coliseum |
| Memphis Showboats | USFL | 1984–1986 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| Memphis Storm | AISL | 1986–1990 | Mid-South Coliseum |
| Memphis Storm | USISL | 1990–1994 | Shelby Farms Show Place Arena |
| Memphis Express | USL PDL | 2002–2005 | Mike Rose Soccer Complex/Collierville High School |
Memphis has been represented by several now-defunct professional sports franchises, including the Memphis Pharaohs of Arena Football, the Memphis Maniax of the XFL, the Memphis Xplorers of the AF2, the Memphis Showboats of the USFL, the Memphis Southmen of the WFL, the Memphis Houn'Dawgs of the ABA, the Memphis Sounds of the original ABA in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the Memphis Mad Dogs of the CFL.
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MMA Former UFC Light Heavy Weight, and current #1 contender, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was born and raised in Memphis.
