Bocce bowls into South Main

Basketball may be king on Beale, but beginning this month on South Main, B-ball will mean one thing: bocce.
 
The Downtown Memphis Commission is funding the construction of a bocce court at the corner of South Main St. and Talbot Ave. in a lot owned by Michael Kisber.
 
“There are hopes that that space will be developed eventually and for us that’s always the goal, to put space back into better use,” said Leslie Gower of the DMC. “So we told him, ‘let’s activate it and maybe that will get some more people looking at it, you never know.’”

To inaugurate the court, the South Main Association, along with the DMC and High Cotton Brewing Co., is hosting a tournament to begin April 10. Participating teams will be assigned a start time and play will continue through eliminations until a champion is named. The winning players will receive a $50 gift certificate each to South of Beale. Deadline to sign up is April 7. To sign up, go here.

The idea for a bocce court came from the South Main Design Challenge held last year, urging individuals and organizations to come up with ways to make better use of vacant space.
 
“They had identified a couple of different places on South Main that had been underutilized,” said Brian Douglas, president of the SMA. “We’re actually working on some of the other ideas as well. Some of the others are a little more in-depth and require a little more work on our part to get approved, but this is the first one that has come to fruition.”
 
The DMC has leased the land from Kisber and a total of $3,500 will go towards grading and building the court, equipment purchase and the launch event. The court will be open to the public with equipment available for use.
 
“Bocce is a great activity for residents, for employees of businesses that are in the area as well as bringing in some folks that might not have otherwise come to the area,” Douglas said.
 
In addition to the renovation into a sporting field, the area will be part of the South Main Mosaic. Like the design challenge, it identifies about 20 sites to be filled with art through a juried contest.

To learn more or sign up for the tournament, go here.