When Memphis 901 FC travels to Michigan to take on Detroit City this Saturday, watching at home won’t be the only option for fans of the Beale Street Boys. Memphis 901 FC will be hosting an official away game watch party. The game kicks off at 3pm and fans can join the official watch party at Celtic Crossing in Midtown. Updates with news on specials and giveaways are sure to come as well.
Celtic Crossing, of course, is one of the premier soccer bars in Memphis. It even played host to an official meet and greet back in November of 2022 when Stephen Glass was introduced as the 901 FC head coach. But official watch parties for Memphis 901 FC have been few and far between with the last one coming in 2022 (a game at Loudoun United that was unfortunately delayed for hours and hours due to severe weather in Virginia).
One complicating factor for watch parties this season has been Memphis 901 FC’s move from the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship to the Western Conference. Being in the Western Conference obviously means a lot more trips out to the Pacific Time Zone, and as such, many very late night kickoffs. 9pm is far from an ideal time to begin a watch party, even on a Saturday night.
So it it perhaps fortuitous that Saturday’s game on the road against Detroit City was moved up by several hours from 7pm ET to 4pm ET. What is the reason for the time change? Detroit City’s USL W team will be hosting the Colorado Storm in a semi-final that same day at Keyworth Stadium.
As Memphis 901 FC attempts to boost attendance, the organization has done a much better job this year at getting out into the community with various events. Back in a February interview with Bluff City Media, new Memphis 901 FC COO Jay Mims specifically mentioned that teaming up with pub partners for official away game watch parties was something they were going to try to do this season. Lo and behold, they are now doing it.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 3pm from Detroit but the Beale Street Boys don’t return to AutoZone Park until Saturday, July 27 at 7:30pm against San Antonio FC. That game will be the second of four post-game fireworks nights.