Sports in Memphis, Tennessee are supported in the city by Memphis Park Services, which offers a wide range of public facilities, including 17 swimming pools, 8 public golf courses, 48 athletic fields hosting a range of 510 youth and 269 adult teams, 130 basketball courts (101 outdoor and 29 indoor), 7 tennis centers and a soccer complex.[1]
Memphis is also home to professional sports teams in basketball, baseball and other sports. Golf, basketball, baseball and tennis are popular recreational sports in Memphis.
The Memphis Houn'Dawgs was an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team began play in the fall of 2000. The team played in the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi, and only played the 2000-2001 ABA season before disbanding. The name was an apparent nod to the proposed NFL franchise team, the Memphis Hound Dogs (in turn, a nod to the song of the same name by Elvis Presley) which never got off the ground.
Memphis has hosted several professional football teams for brief periods over the years. The Memphis Tigers played there in the late 1920s and early 1930s,.[3] In more recent years the city has been host to teams from five different professional leagues. Memphis held a franchise, the Memphis Southmen, in the short-lived professional World Football League (1974–1975). The Memphis Showboats played in the United States Football League (1984–1985). The Memphis Mad Dogs were an expansion franchise of the Canadian Football League in 1995. The NFL's Tennessee Titans, formerly known as the Houston Oilers, relocated to Memphis for one season (as the Tennessee Oilers) in 1997 before moving to Nashville. Most recently the Memphis Maniax represented the city in the XFL (2001). Each of these teams called the Liberty Bowl their home field.
Golf is a very popular form of recreation in Memphis, which has eight municipal courses.[5] The City's first public facility, Galloway Golf Course, was created in 1923.[6] There are now over 30 public and private golf courses in the Memphis Metropolitan Area.[7] Memphis is home to the annual FedEx St. Jude Classic, a regular part of the PGA TOUR.
Memphis is also home to Memphis International Raceway, just north of the city on the outskirts of Memphis and Millington, TN. The venue has a 3/4-mile (1207 m) paved oval track. It also has a 1/4-mile (402 m) drag strip, and road course. The complex is home to NASCAR, IHRA, and SCCA sanctioned events as well as locally sanctioned events that run from February to November.
Another racetrack in the Memphis metro area is Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. It is a 1/4 mile dirt track that runs 305 winged sprints, late models, modifieds, 600cc mini sprints, and stock-cars. The Track opened June 10th, 1950 making it one of the longest continuously operated tracks in the nation. It is the home track to 6 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Members. Clarence "Hooker" Hood, Rick Hood, Sammy Swindell. Jeff Swindell. Bobby Davis Jr and Greg Hodnett.
Memphis area also has a very active Kart racing organization with Kart racing at Atoka Raceway Park and Coyote Run Arena in Mason
Rugby
Memphis is also home to the Memphis Blues, a Rugby Union team, which plays at Tobey Field in Midtown, Memphis.
Memphis Women's Rugby is a women's senior club team (Rugby Union) which also plays at Tobey Field in Midtown, Memphis. The team is a member of USA Rugby South, Division II.[8]
Roller derby
Memphis has an active presence in the derby world courtesy of Memphis Roller Derby. The team is a sanctioned member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and competes in the South Central Region. The Memphis league has four home teams that compete in intra-league bouts, plus one travel team that competes in other cities.
