Memphis Showboats arrive in Memphis for training camp; expectations for team to bring economic boost for city

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - We are less than a month away from the start of the Memphis Showboats football season.

Thursday was move-in day for the start of training camp. Players and staff will be staying at an East Memphis Hotel for the upcoming season that starts next month.

“Like a kid in the candy store once it gets closer, the anticipation, start salivating a little bit,” said Showboats quarterback and former Memphis Tiger Brady White.

The season starts April 15th, but the economic boost for the city actually starts right now.

“Staying in the hotels of course, utilizing our transportation, buses, you know football teams love to eat so we’re helping them out with food and beverage companies,” said JJ Greer with the Memphis Sports Council.

Greer says his team is sourcing the hotel room blocks for not only the Memphis Showboats, but also, the Houston Gamblers who will also be playing at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium for the season.

He also says that the new team is a great way to show off the city’s multi-million-dollar sports investment that just opened late last year.

“Really the USFL is a great introduction, a great segue into this new development at Liberty park,” said Greer.

The USFL coming to Memphis could play a critical part of Memphis boosting its profile as a sports city, but time will only tell if Memphians will get behind the year-old pro football league.

“This city shows up and represents and we’ve seen that on multiple occasions not just football but basketball,” said White.

The Memphis Showboats were a part of the original USFL league in 1984 and 1985, fast forward nearly 40 years and the city now has elite NCAA and NBA teams that command a lot of attention from sports fans this time of the year.

However Memphians have also shown their love of football as well.

“Football is really a yearlong sport. College football and NFL are relatively short and as Americans we love football,” said Greer.

The Memphis Showboats will hopefully hit the field for training camp sometime next week.

Memphis Showboat tickets are on sale now. Memphis Showboats 2023 Group Ticket Deposits Tickets Memphis, TN | Ticketmaster

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