Bluff City Pickleball lease of the Pipkin Building

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: a lease of the city-owned Pipkin Building (940 Early Maxwell Boulevard, District 4) to Bluff City Athletics, doing business as Bluff City Pickle Ball LLC, for seven years with an option for seven more.
Where it stands: held from October 6, then approved by the full council on 10/20/2026 after about 17 minutes of comment and debate; at least six yes votes, three no, one recusal.
Next: the operator plans permanent changes to the space; Memphis Roller Derby, the Southern Heritage flea market and other users lose the building.

Resolution sponsored by the administration; Warren moved the committee's favorable recommendation.
Parks Director Bolden put the life-of-lease value at about $500,000 of improvements, $280,000 of rent and roughly the same in utilities. Opponents cited rent of about $4,000 a month for 27,000 square feet.

Rent under $2 a square foot a year, against $5 to $10 for warehouses; the city stays responsible for roof, HVAC and plumbing.
The tenant said in committee it expects no profit, so a 50 percent profit share would bring in nothing; speakers asked whether other tenants were considered and how the rent was set.
Loss of a large open civic space used for the Southern Heritage flea market, Memphis in May, barbecue events, university events, vaccination and warming or cooling centers, and Memphis Roller Derby; the operator plans permanent floors, nets and walls.
A commenter reported that the Fairgrounds for All group gathered about 1,500 signatures against the lease in under a week.

Parks subsidizes derby's rate at the Pipkin about 84 percent and will keep the same rate at community centers; derby can host weekend bouts at the Memphis Sports and Event Center at a 50 percent subsidy.
Bolden said the Pipkin decision will not please everyone but the department will keep working with the derby on programming.

Yes: Councilmembers Canale, Logan, Walker, White, Warren and the chair. No: Carlisle, Green, Spinosa. Councilmember Easter-Thomas recused. The votes of Councilmembers Ford and Smiley were not heard. The item passed.

10/8/2026: Warren moved approval and White seconded. Green moved to hold because roller derby had no confirmed location; Smiley seconded; held without objection to October 20 (about 4 minutes of discussion).

About 21 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-20 - Memphis City Council	17
2026-10-08 - Memphis City Council	4

2026-10-20 - Memphis City Council — Approved after public comment from five opponents; Parks defended the terms.
2026-10-08 - Memphis City Council — Moved by Warren; held two weeks on Green's motion after she asked about roller derby's new location; Parks Director Bolden said derby has a Davis Community Center permit through 2027.
2026-10-06 - City Council Committees - Parks discussion; lease went to the full council that evening.
2026-09-15 - City Council Committees - Committee passed the lease (7-year term, one 7-year renewal, 50% of net profit to the city after the tenant recovers about $500,000) on a voice vote; members asked for lease terms and protection for roller derby.