For the first time in 42 years, MIM has a back-to-back winner
For the second year in a row, Heath Riles BBQ claims top prize in the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. The team also won first in the ribs category.
Topic: Liberty Park
RSSThere are 81 article(s) tagged Liberty Park:
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May 2026
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Table Talk: Farewell barbecue week, it was nice to meat you
I polled The Daily Memphian’s staff on what our barbecue team’s name should be, if we had one. The answers were pretty incredible.
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Memphis in May: Contestants’ stomachs grumble from the Rib Rumble
For Dude Wipe’s rib-eating contest, four contestants were lined up in front of tin dishes filled with 5 pounds of ribs and an extra pour of Cattleman’s BBQ Sauce.
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Holy Smoke! This live-fire team is just getting started
Atlanta-based pitmasters Dakari Akorede and Justin Robinson took on 19 other teams from around the world in Thursday’s Open Fire World Championship.
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Memphis in May: Scenes from Ms. Piggie Idol
The winners performed to songs such as Wreckx-N-Effect’s “Rump Shaker” and Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” in the contest at Liberty Park.
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Wherever the barbecue is, that’s where these teams will be
For some barbecue teams, the annual Memphis competition is mostly about spending time with family and friends.
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Table Talk: It’s homecoming at Memphis in May
It’s the 48th year for the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, and it’s a homecoming of sorts for some of the teams that participated in rival barbecue festival SmokeSlam for the past two years.
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April 2026
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How Memphis plans to spend $100 million in state money on Beale Street
John Zeanah said an interesting phrase as he stood outside FedExForum during a City Council bus tour — he called the area the “arena district.”
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‘Cupid Shuffle’ singer, Cedric Burnside to perform at Memphis in May barbecue contest
As more than 200 pitmasters from 27 states and seven different countries go toe to toe during the barbecue competition, the “Line Dancing King” and a Grammy Award-winning local blues artist are among the entertainment.
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March 2026
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Council members question Liberty Park project after Daily Memphian reporting
The Daily Memphian dove into the $2.2 million invested in the still-stalled private development. Now, two Memphis City Council members want answers from Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s administration.
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February 2026
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Memphis paid $2.2M for Liberty Park consultants — and it’s still an empty lot
The city needs sales-tax growth at Liberty Park to pay bonds at the Memphis Sports and Events Center. To generate that tax growth, it needs hotel and apartments to become something more than hypothetical.
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December 2025
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The AM/DM podcast: The future of Liberty Park
Liberty Park was supposed to be an economic catalyst for Memphis. It still could be, but so far, the tax growth it needs hasn’t come to fruition.
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August 2025
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Liberty Park Southern Avenue entrance could get new look
The Memphis City Council will dive into a revamped entrance and security upgrades for Liberty Park along with a $14.6 million “action plan” from Mayor Paul Young.
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May 2025
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Liberty Park hotel, apartments could break ground this fall, city says
Work on a hotel and apartments at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds property may begin in the fourth quarter of 2025. The projected opening date is in early 2027.
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Memphis in May barbecue contest starts smoking
The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest got underway Wednesday afternoon, and for many teams, it begins with the wood.
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October 2024
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Liberty Park tourism zone collected zero dollars last year
The district’s growth is intended to pay off the Memphis Sports and Event Center’s $100 million debt.
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August 2024
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Fairgrounds development wants to be Chick-fil-A of entertainment. Can it?
The planned $112.5 million private development High 5 could transform Liberty Park, formerly known as the Mid-South Fairgrounds, and bail the City of Memphis out of an underwater wager.
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Liberty Park development clears Memphis City Council
Liberty Park, formerly known as the Mid-South Fairgrounds, could see a broad transformation in the coming years with $112.5 million in private development now cleared for takeoff.
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Memphis City Council talks over mayor’s executive appointments
The City Council also could take final action on ground leases for the planned development at Liberty Park. The leases for an entertainment venue, hotel and apartments would bring much-needed sales tax to the Liberty Park Tourism Development Zone.
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July 2024
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Liberty Park $112M private development takes step forward
Further development at Liberty Park took a key step forward Tuesday: A City Council committee approved the up-to $112.5 million project that could change Midtown.
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City Council considers suburban expansion for MLGW board
Memphis City Council will consider a November ballot question that will impact the city’s suburbs and separately, the future of Liberty Park.
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June 2024
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‘The city has to stop doing bad deals:’ Council sounds off as Liberty Park is underwater
“This is a 100-year deal ... The city has to stop doing bad deals,” said Memphis City Councilman Chase Carlisle about development at Liberty Park.
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May 2024
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City council moves toward budget wrap up, reviews terms for Liberty Park
The council takes the second of three votes Tuesday, May 21, on raising the city’s monthly solid-waste fee and decides six wages disputes between the city administration and labor unions.
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At MIM, BBQ Alley is ‘for the people,’ pitmaster says
BBQ Alley is perfect for those World Champsionship Barbecue Cooking Contest attendees who aren’t part of, or friends with anyone on, a competition team.
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Memphis in May BBQ fest kicks off with sauce wrestling and fiery competition
The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is officially underway, with 129 teams from 22 states and four foreign countries vying for the crown.
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