Tennessee pushes arena renovation bills ahead

The Tennessee legislature yesterday approved two bills that "could help fund FedExForum renovations" in Memphis by "re-allocating how the city and county divide revenue from a hotel/motel tax." The legislation will now go to Gov. Bill Lee's desk. The bills provide a "pathway for the city and county to continue their discussions" with the Grizzlies, though "there's still work to be done ... before the renovations can be finalized and the Grizzlies sign a long-term lease." The Grizzlies "have not publicly said how much money they need" for the project, but the "expectation from around the city is it will cost at least" $550M. The bills passed by the state legislature allow the city and county to "start working on a deal to fill that gap," but those discussions are "far from being finalized" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 4/22).