The project languished for three decades until Mark's younger son, Memphian Jon Brent Hartz, resurrected the concept.

After years of negotiations, the younger Hartz's concept was adopted by entrepreneur John Tigrett as a symbol for the city of Memphis.

The Pyramid was the site in 1999 of the WWF St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House pay-per-view which featured Big Show's WWE debut (under his real name Paul Wight); also in 1999 the rock bands the Rolling Stones and Phish played sold-out concerts.

[14] Filmmaker Craig Brewer used the building as a sound stage for his film Black Snake Moan in late 2005.

The city of Memphis did spend $7 million on renovations such as improved dressing rooms and new television camera platforms for the Grizzlies' three-year stay in the arena.

[20] In November 2006, Congressman-Elect Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) suggested that he would attempt to open a Mid-American branch of the Smithsonian Institution in the building.

In the end, the Ledbetter committee on the building's future recommended that it be used for destination retail, which would create more jobs and new tax revenues.

In October 2005, media speculation began to focus on an aquarium or a Bass Pro Shops superstore as the most likely long-term tenants of the arena.

In 2008, the city and Bass Pro Shops reached a tentative agreement, short on details, but based on an intent to develop the then-abandoned structure.

Marshall and Insight Design Architects was later hired by Bass Pro Shops for its renovations and construction, which led to its opening April 29, 2015.

The building also includes a Wahlburghers Wild and an Uncle Buck's Fishbowl and Grill with a bowling alley and a saltwater aquarium.

Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid contains 600,000 gallons of water features and the largest collection of waterfowl and hunting-related equipment in the world.