Grizzlies block parties missing the team’s biggest asset: players
If you can’t have Zach Randolph or Tony Allen, why not have Lionel Hollins or A C Wharton?
Those are the options the Memphis Grizzlies have as they try to get fans excited for the upcoming season. The Grizzlies announced the schedule of the annual Round Town Block Parties with a new twist. The team is making appearances at local high school football games throughout the fall.
I guess I should include an asterisk next to the word “team,” since the Grizzlies’ actual players are prohibited from attending any of the events due to the league’s ongoing lockout.
In the past, the Grizzlies have dispatched players including Darrell Arthur, Sam Young and Grievis Vasquez to the parties to mingle with fans, but since players aren’t available, the coaching staff and team executives will be on hand to meet and interact with fans. Even Wharton is scheduled to stop by the Overton Park block party.
The NBA prohibits team execs and coaches from mentioning players or collective bargaining agreement negotiations during the lockout, under threat of a fine that ranges from $500,000 to $1 million. So the conversations between fans and team personnel won’t be too enlightening.
The Grizzlies will have all of the usual attractions at the block parties (Grizz, the Grizz Girls, food, live music, etc.), but the biggest thing the team sells will be missing. At the same time, they’ll also be trying to sell tickets for a season that is teetering on the brink of either being delayed, abbreviated or cancelled altogether.
However, in true Broadway fashion, the show must go on. The Grizzlies are scheduling four block parties at Overton Park (Sept. 1), Collierville Town Square Gazebo (Sept. 13), the Oakland Kroger located at 7264 Highway 64 (Oct. 4) and at W.J. Freeman Park in Bartlett (Oct. 6). All of the parties will be held from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., and the Grizzlies are also planning a presence at other local events including the Chick-Fil-A-5K on Labor Day, the Germantown Festival (Sept. 9-11), the Cooper Young Festival (Sept. 17) and the Shelby Farms Block Party (Oct. 1).
