AutoZone is not just a name associated with a corporate office building downtown or a store for automotive parts and accessories. It is also the name associated with arguably one of the best Minor League Baseball stadiums in the country.
AutoZone Park has been a staple in Memphis sports since its opening in April of 2000. Its construction cost more than any other minor league stadium ever built. While attending an event at the park, baseball fans feel as if they are in a Major League Baseball stadium. AutoZone Park is complete with a Club Level, a spectacular videoboard (the largest of all the minor league stadiums), a press box, family-friendly lawn seating, and an air-conditioned concourse. In 2009, Baseball America titled AutoZone Park the Top Minor League Ballpark!
While the stadium itself is owned by the City of Memphis, its home team, the Memphis Redbirds, is partially owned by both Peter B. Freund and its Major League Baseball affiliate, the St. Louis Cardinals. As a repeat winner in the Pacific Coast League Championship and 2018 winner in the Triple-A National Championship Game, the Memphis Redbirds continue to make their Memphis fans proud.
Fun Fact: The Memphis Redbirds previously played at Tim McCarver Stadium.
AutoZone Park has held numerous special events. Major League Baseball hosted both, the inaugural and the second, annual Civil Rights games there in 2007 and 2008. Major league teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Mets have played in this exhibition game.
The stadium offers a variety of places to sit, and each option features its own unique view of the game.
One popular option is The Bluffs. The Bluffs is one of the least expensive ticket options in the park, but that doesn’t mean that it offers anything less than the other choices. It has traditional picnic style seating that is loved by families and parents alike as it gives kids a wide area to explore during the game. It is also loved for being a more casual way to enjoy one of the fantastic games you can see there. You can’t bring chairs onto the bluff though, so guests often bring blankets in order to fully enjoy all that The Bluffs has to offer.
Another option is The Family Leisure Picnic Pavilion. Most often, this is selected by companies and schools across the city to best accommodate their events. They frequently have stadium vendors cater food and eat at one of the many picnic tables while still having a great view of the game. This space can hold up to 500 people so it is plenty big to host parties. When this space is deemed too large, patrons often choose one of the two party decks, which can each hold up to 175 eager baseball fans.
Plenty of notable companies in the Memphis area also purchase one of the 48 suites that overlook the park from the Club Level. If lucky enough to sit in one of the 700 seats that the club level has, fans enjoy some of the best accommodations in the park.
In total, the park can hold 10,000 baseball fans in one of the most comfortable environments available in Minor League Baseball.
There are plenty other unique aspects to this park. One of those is the revitalized Miracle-Gro Rooftop Garden. Once fully functional, the garden will provide food and herbs to be used in the various concession stands that are frequent across the park. It will also provide a fun and educational space for children across the Memphis area to learn about gardening, nutrition and healthy habits.
As of the beginning of 2019, AutoZone Park isn’t just for baseball. The Memphis 901 FC professional soccer team now also calls this stadium home. This new team will continue to keep AutoZone Park among the elite in Memphis sports!