Memphis football comes home Saturday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. against Arkansas State, and the building waiting on the crowd is not the one that closed out last season. Saturday is the first game since the completion of the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium renovation that started in 2024. The most obvious change is the new west tower, with suites, boxes, club seating and a full service kitchen, joined by new video boards, a ribbon board, a new sound system and LED entertainment lighting. On the west end, the new Landers Plaza is open to every ticket holder and stays open an hour after the final whistle for a postgame gathering the athletic department is calling the Fifth Quarter.
The crowd is trending toward a full house. A University of Memphis source familiar with ticket sales put the count at more than 37,000 tickets sold or distributed as of Friday morning, roughly 8,000 short of the stadium capacity of 45,632. A 27 to 21 road win over UNLV in the debut of first year coach Charles Huff added to the momentum, and athletic director Ed Scott has been pushing on price at the same time. Tickets to Saturday’s game are going for $9.01, every ticket purchase lets two kids in free, and a $7 meal deal covers an entree, chips and a drink.
The night comes with extras. The first 5,000 fans through the gates receive a commemorative ticket marking the reopening of the stadium, a drone show runs at halftime with more at the end of the third quarter, during the fourth quarter and after the game, and the university has teased a halftime announcement alongside the Memphis Zoo. Alcohol sales pause at the end of the third quarter and pick back up for the Fifth Quarter on the plaza.
