I remember Champs being like the first ones to have them at Lakeside. I almost got one the same day that my cousin got his, I hope that wasn't him that you saw that day, LOL!
Strong possibility! It mentioned the Memphis camp wanting to name the team the 'Express' but the league rejected it because they didn't want a name that tied in any way to a major corporation. Whatever!As far as the Grizzlies go I'd say corporate sponsorship from FedEx played a role in that.
That last part is so true about this state and getting things done. If you don't 'grease' the right palms, then you better rest assured your issue is not going to get handled. They're is a guy that I know who worked at City Hall for years who say's that Walt Disney was originally looking to put Disney World here in the east.The group that was going to buy the team was backed by Top-Rank and Bob Arum and it was a heavily leveraged deal. No one was putting enough equity into the group. Also, Arum's boxing connections were a major issue, not to mention all the side deals that had to be cut with the Edwards and Morial entourages.
I can't remember if it was Moon or Schiro, but they basically told Walt something along the lines of "what's in it for me?" and Walt smiled, shook hands and sent his brother to Orlando that evening to strike a deal and start buying land. I don't know how much truth there is to that but he's been in that camp for years and a lot of info that I get in dealing with the city comes through him and it's pretty spot on so it's safe to assume his claims hold water. We all know how the last part ended!