Memphis, AutoZone Park get set for first 'test run' with pro soccer

Mark Giannotto | Memphis Commercial Appeal

Craig Unger walked with U.S. soccer legend Tim Howard along what had been first base 12 hours earlier and began pointing out landmarks inside AutoZone Park.

By the home dugout, there will be one goal. Out in right field, beneath the scoreboard, will be the other one. Corner kicks will be taken by the foul pole. The best seats in the house will be along the first-base line.

The Memphis Redbirds general manager, who’s now an owner and president of Memphis’ new professional soccer team, then stopped once he reached a piece of plywood, not wanting to get in the way of the backhoe digging up the mound.

“I’m not going to lie,” Unger said a few minutes later. “You come in this morning and see heavy equipment on the field bulldozing things, it’s a little nerve-wracking.”

U.S. national team goalie Tim Howard discusses USL Memphis, Soccer Showdown Tim Howard of the U.S. men's national team and the Colorado Rapids discusses USL Memphis and Saturday's 'Soccer Showdown' at AutoZone Park.

What pro soccer exhibition means for Memphis

Saturday will officially mark the city’s latest attempt at becoming a full-fledged professional soccer town. AutoZone Park is set to host an exhibition game between the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, featuring Howard as its goalie, and the Tulsa Roughnecks FC of the United Soccer League.

The new USL Memphis franchise, which will begin play in March, has dubbed the event a "Soccer Showdown" and will use the festivities to unveil its name and logo.

If there were any doubts as to whether Memphis is interested in a game between two out-of-town soccer teams during the exact same time as the University of Memphis football opener, USL Memphis announced earlier this week it had to release more standing-room tickets due to the demand.

This soccer match is going to be a sellout of about 8,500, or at least close to it.

Which, of course, is a good sign for Memphis and the potential long-term success of another professional sports franchise here.

This isn’t just Hoop City anymore. It’s an area teeming with a variety of sports fans, including suburbs full of children who play youth soccer.

A lot of them will be downtown Saturday watching futbol instead of football.

“It’s a test run for everybody,” USL Memphis coach Tim Mulqueen said. “For our fans, for us, for our front office.”

The hope is a boisterous and dedicated fan base emerges, much like what happened in Atlanta when it got an MLS team and led the league in attendance during its inaugural season.

An independent supporters group named the Bluff City Mafia already started posting on social media, with plans to meet at The Brass Door before Saturday’s exhibition.

It’s the start of something that Howard, who lives in Memphis and is serving as a consultant for the USL Memphis ownership group, believes will lead to a raucous environment inside AutoZone Park during soccer games.

“We want other teams to get off the bus and go, ‘Oh no, we’ve got to play at Memphis,’” said Howard, the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. men's national team in its past two World Cup appearances. “We want our supporters to be drinking the beers, walking in, marching, banging drums, screaming, yelling, making it heck for the other team.”

How AutoZone Park will go from baseball to soccer

First, however, the franchise has to successfully convert the baseball diamond at AutoZone Park into a soccer field. As even Howard conceded, there are often issues with the field when playing soccer in a minor league baseball stadium.

The conversion process began Tuesday morning, as soon as the Memphis Redbirds completed their final home game of the regular season.

A grounds crew of about 10 began digging out the mound and scraped off a layer of dirt from the baselines. Unger said the team plans to install a retractable mound by next spring in hopes that it can change over the field in as little as 24 hours.

By Wednesday, a layer of fabric and new sod had been installed where the infield once used to be. Director of field operations Brian Bowe said the goal is to “make the transitions as unnoticeable as possible between the old grass and the new sod.”

On Thursday, the field was lined and goals were set up in advance of Colorado and Tulsa holding practices in Memphis on Friday.

Bowe consulted with minor league baseball grounds crews in Nashville, Reno and Louisville that also do this conversion for USL soccer teams. He and USL Memphis sporting director Andrew Bell then went to Nashville a few weeks ago and watched their grounds crew go through the process.

“We think we can do it a little bit better here in Memphis,” Bell said Tuesday.

A shot at Nashville?

The team and the soccer experiment are already off to a great start.

“We want people to come in here and go, ‘Wow. This is soccer. This is a soccer stadium,’” Bell said. “I think when you come on Saturday night, you’re going to really feel it. We want people to have the best first experience possible.”

More on the Soccer Showdown

Who: Colorado Rapids vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC

When: Saturday at 7 p.m.

Where: AutoZone Park

Pregame: DJ, games and giveaways in AutoZone Park plaza starting at 3:30 p.m.