Quick Facts
- Date: April 1, 2000
- Event: Opening of AutoZone Park with an exhibition game between the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) and St. Louis Cardinals (MLB)
- Result: Redbirds 10, Cardinals 6
- Attendance: Approximately 15,000 (sellout)
- Location: AutoZone Park, 200 Union Ave., Downtown Memphis—just blocks from Beale Street
- Ballpark at Opening: 14,320 capacity; $80.5 million construction; architects Looney Ricks Kiss (lead) with HOK Sport
Main Story
On April Fool’s Day 2000, the Bluff City welcomed a new era of professional baseball as AutoZone Park opened its gates for the first time. The downtown ballpark debuted with a marquee exhibition—quickly dubbed a “Battle of the Birds”—pitting the Triple‑A Memphis Redbirds against their MLB parent club, the St. Louis Cardinals. In front of an announced sellout crowd of roughly 15,000, Memphis defeated St. Louis, 10–6, inaugurating the field with a memorable local win in the 901.
AutoZone Park was conceived as a first‑class, urban ballpark built to Major League standards. The $80.5 million project, led by Memphis‑based Looney Ricks Kiss with HOK Sport, opened with 14,320 seats and 48 suites, integrating the stadium seamlessly into the city fabric at Third and Union. Its location placed fans steps from Beale Street and the heart of Downtown, reflecting a broader civic strategy to marry sports, entertainment, and walkable streets in the core of Memphis history and culture.
Legacy
The opening exhibition was more than a baseball game; it signaled renewed confidence in Downtown Memphis. Local reporting credits the park’s 2000 debut with helping jump‑start the district’s turnaround—adding consistent foot traffic, new events, and a sense that “Downtown was cool” again. In the years that followed, AutoZone Park hosted signature moments that amplified Memphis’s national profile, including Major League Baseball’s inaugural Civil Rights Game in 2007. Today, the stadium remains a landmark gathering place near Beale Street—part of how Memphis tells its story to visitors and residents alike, and a continuing symbol of the city’s investment in community life, sports, and the spirit of the 901.
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