Though the headlining item of Aug. 18 Memphis City Council committee and regular meetings was discussion of a temporary ban on data center development, its members discussed a number of other citywide initiatives and ongoing projects.
The status of the Mid-South Coliseum, which has long sat dormant, was back up for discussion, though there remain no specific plans for its future.
The Memphis Police Department chief also gave an update on crime trends in the city.
Mid-South Coliseum is still up in the air
The polarizing issue of what to do with Memphis' historic Mid-South Coliseum also reached the Council the morning of Aug. 18 during the Economic Development, Tourism and Technology Committee meeting.
The question of whether to redevelop or demolish the venue, which was open between 1964
and 2006, has plagued Memphis for years. The city-owned Coliseum was formerly the home of Memphis Tigers basketball, and hosted numerous musical and entertainment legends over the years.
A faction of locals has advocated for saving the shuttered indoor arena and turning it into a multiuse attraction similar to Crosstown Concourse. This includes Corey Strong, co-founder of Mid-South Coliseum Conservatory, a nonprofit working to preserve the Coliseum and create new revenue-generating activity in Liberty Park.
Strong asked the council to give a vote of confidence in the nonprofit moving forward with an initial study of the defunct property with partner LRK, an architecture firm. He told them he hopes to reignite the cultural memories associated with the Coliseum, but also drive economic activity in an area that currently attracts a lot of visitors from out of town.
The project is ultimately likely to be privately funded, Strong said. But in the meantime, the city is paying to maintain the Coliseum in its current shape.
"Every day we wait, we're losing money on that property," Strong said.
Strong and Mid-South Coliseum Conservatory hope a vote of confidence from the council will help in their talks with Memphis Mayor Paul Young.
Crime continues to trend downward
Crime in every major category continues to decrease across the city, according to Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis.
In a presentation given to the council during its Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, Davis said crime in seven major categories was trending downward this year when compared to the same period of 2025: murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. Calls for service are also down this year compared to last year.
The Memphis Safe Task Force also came up. Council members asked Davis to contemplate what Memphis' safety initiatives will look like when the task force transitions out of the city.
The biggest help to the Memphis Police Department has been the Tennessee Highway Patrol as a force multiplier, Davis said. She added that ICE arrests have decreased to almost none in the past few weeks, and the National Guard has no arresting power. Davis said one aspect of the task force that she would like to have a more permanent presence in Memphis is the state highway patrol.
Councilwoman Jerri Green said she is wary of the National Guard assisting the police department with arrests given different training and protocols, and wants MPD to have the credit for the recent increase in arrests.
New retirement system could expand to more city workers
The Council also gave a favorable recommendation on expanding the city's new retirement and pension system to apply to police dispatchers, fire dispatchers, fire alarm operators and paramedics employed in the city's fire department. Discussion occurred during the meeting of the council's Personnel, Government Affairs and Annexations Committee.
In July, the council amended the pension system for police officers and firefighters to increase the multiplier for years of credited and remove a provision reducing retirement benefits for those retiring before a certain age.
Pending official approval from the council, these policies will be applied to the additional class of city first responders.
Annie Goldman covers government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What next for Mid-South Coliseum? Memphis City Council talks future
