Ford stamps name on FedExForum parking garage

"We think this may, in fact, be the first parking garage that has naming rights to it," said Mike Redlick, Grizzlies (FedExForum) vice president of sponsorship sales.

There are some sponsored parking lots but, as far as the Grizzlies know, no parking garages.

"Frankly, it's a good way to get Ford's name in front of a lot of eyeballs quickly," said Matt Bradley, regional manager for Ford Division. "We were provided the opportunity and we jumped on it."

The garage has entrances on Linden, with direct access to the FedExForum. It is also half a block from Beale Street.

Each one of the five levels at the garage has been named for a Ford product. Those names are F-Series, Expedition, Explorer, Mustang and Five Hundred, for a new midsized sedan that will go on sale in September, Bradley said.

Other automotive companies had expressed an interest in the naming rights for the garage, Redlick said. "But Ford has been a great partner with us for the last few years since we moved to Memphis and they wanted to take it to the next level," he said. "We just saw this as a great opportunity."

The Grizzlies organization also has talked with potential partners about naming-rights opportunities with the practice court facility and the more than 30,000-square-foot plaza area, which will be a forum for public meetings and a venue for concerts before the games, Redlick said.