As the city considers a proposal to turn the Pipkin Building into a pickleball facility, local organizers, residents, and athletes are urging lawmakers to preserve the area as a community space.
In September, John and Leslie Daniel of Bluff City Athletics LLC, presented plans to the Memphis City Council to transform Pipkin into Bluff City Pickleball. The Pipkin now hosts a number of specialty events such as flea markets and wrestling matches.
Bluff City Athletics LLC appeared in front of the council’s Parks and Environment Committee on Tuesday, October 6th to discuss a potential seven-year lease agreement with the option to renew for an additional seven.
But the grassroots organization Fairgrounds for All submitted a petition with more than 1,500 signatures urging the council to keep the Fairgrounds available for all Memphians. Petitioners said they don’t condemn pickleball, but fear the exclusivity of a private business taking the space.
“The Pipkin was built to serve the public,” the petition reads. “It should remain a shared civic asset, not become a private amenity with a paywall.”
Kristin Kuehner, an organizer with Fairgrounds For All, said the group was founded to resist the potential privatization of the Pipkin Building. As a skater with Memphis Roller Derby (MRD), she realized the roller teams could potentially lose their space and reached out to other groups such as Memphis In May and flea market organizers.
Kuehner said the Pipkin is “critical” to the vitality of community groups, and represents a “last vestige of community space.”
“Our idea and purpose is that we’re tired of having our third spaces commercialized,” Kuehner said. “There’s just been so much stuff that happened [at the Pipkin] — not to mention the people that use the parking lot.”
The group is looking for more people who would be affected by the potential lease, while also preparing for future public comment periods at City Hall.
The item for Bluff City Pickleball’s lease appeared in front of the council on Thursday, October 7th. During the discussion council members asked about displacement of MRD.
Director of Memphis Parks, Justice Bolden, said they’ve presented the Davis Community Center as a replacement facility for MRD on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. through the end of 2027.
The league would be able to host its skate school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“Memphis Parks has provided a permit for roller derby for the Davis Community Center through 2027, and we’ll continue to work with them on [the] Memphis Sports and Events Center as well as Davis Community Center moving forward,” Bolden said during the council’s meeting.
Council member Jerri Green said she didn’t feel like the Parks department’s proposal for the league was “super clear.”
“It seems like we need to have some more conversations with those who will be impacted,” Green said.
Councilors moved to hold the item while officials work to solidify an alternative for MRD.
