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FedExForum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home games at the Memphis Pyramid. The venue also has the capability of hosting ice hockey games, , and family shows.
The arena officially opened in September 2004 after much debate and also a derecho wind storm on July 22, 2003, that nearly brought down the cranes that were building it near the famed Beale Street. It was built at a cost of US$250 million and is owned by the City of Memphis; naming rights were purchased by one of Memphis's best-known businesses, FedEx, for $92 million. FedExForum was financed using $250 million of , which were issued by the Memphis Public Building Authority (PBA).
FedExForum was designed by architectural firm Ellerbe Becket. Concrete work done with the help of Dowco Construction and Apac. The arena is 805,850 ft2 (75,000 m2) in size, covering 14 (57,000 m2). The Arena is round, with a dome. The playing floor is lower than ground level. It is capable of seating 18,119 for basketball and has 1,000 premiere courtside seats. There are 27 courtside suites, 32 club suites, 4 party suites, and 80 club boxes. It also contains a full-sized practice basketball court, visible from the huge lobby. The plans called for a mass transit bus depot, which brought a federal grant of $6 million, but the depot was changed to a premium parking garage, and Memphis had to return the money.
FedExForum's interior was designed to pay tribute to Memphis' musical heritage, with paintings and murals depicting some of the city's most famous artists including Justin Timberlake, Elvis Presley, and B.B. King. Most of the Arena's restaurants are named in conjunction with FedExForum's overall theme of music with Opus Restaurant and the Blue Note Lounge. The two other restaurants are sponsor-driven with the Lexus Lounge just off the Arena Floor and Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 in the Grand Lobby of the Arena.
FedExForum was the first arena to utilize new "see-through" shot clock units which allow spectators seated behind the basket to see the action without having the clocks interfere with their view. The idea came when a fan of the NBA's New Jersey Nets who sat behind the basket at Continental Airlines Arena sent an e-mail to NBA Commissioner David Stern, asking for technology to improve his view, and Daktronics obliged with the innovation at FedExForum in 2004. The NBA approved the unit a year later for full use and has seen the new units installed at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, Spectrum Center, TD Garden, Moda Center, Capital One Arena, State Farm Arena, and Staples Center after the approval. As of the 2011–12 NBA season every NBA arena had implemented the transparent shot clocks, with Pepsi Center, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Oracle Arena, Target Center, and ARCO Arena being the last NBA arenas to install the clocks.
On March 12–15, 2014, the American Athletic Conference hosted their inaugural tournament at the FedExForum. It hosted the tournament again in 2019.
FedExForum has hosted three major professional wrestling events. In 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment's Unforgiven took place on September 16, headlined by The Undertaker and Mark Henry, and the PMG Clash of Legends independent show on April 27, featuring Hulk Hogan versus Paul Wight. In 2015, it hosted Fastlane on February 22. The first of five WWE took place on September 19, 2004, shortly after the venue opened. It has hosted seven episodes of WWE Raw and four of WWE SmackDown. One notable instance of WWE at the arena was when Bryan Danielson "occupied" Raw with hundreds of his fans inside the ring and surrounding the ringside area on March 10, 2014. Wrestling events at the FedExForum, from WrestlingData.com
On December 12, 2009, FedExForum hosted an Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title fight,
On August 4, 2010, FedExForum held the memorial service to Memphis native Lorenzen Wright, a Memphis Tigers alum and former Memphis Grizzlies player.
The Church of God in Christ, Inc. (COGIC), a Holiness-Pentecostal denomination based in Memphis, held their annual Convocation at the FedExForum from 2004 to 2007.
The arena hosted Monster Jam for a few years, then in 2019 hosted Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live.
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