In exactly a year this week the Grizzlies will introduce their most significant acquisition ever.

When the FedExForum is ready to play, it'll stand 144 feet with the capability to electrify basketball crowds nearing 19,000. Some already prefer to call the new downtown arena by its nickname: The Forum. For the foreseeable future, however, the building could also be dubbed, The Franchise.

Nothing - and no one - is bigger than this for the once downtrodden, now eternally hopeful Grizzlies.

To borrow from the team's past two marketing slogans, expectations surrounding FedExForum are Big Time and heard 'Round Town.

Sans a superstar player and the threat of compiling victories to extend their season beyond April, the Grizzlies are counting on FedExForum to perform masterfully from the moment its doors open.

FedExForums's ability to enhance attendance, marketing, profit volumes and entice free agents are vital to the Grizzlies' future success.

"This arena is going to have a ripple effect throughout the team and the city," Griz majority owner Michael Heisley said. "It's going to motivate the players. It's going to help sell tickets. Our whole business side is totally dominated by the arena. This is the biggest thing we've got going for us except for putting a winning team on the floor."