Memphis City Council on Tuesday finalized the transfer of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium from the city to the University of Memphis and also allocated $120 million in state money to help fund the stadium's renovations.

City Council simply needed to approve the minutes from its last meeting on Dec. 19 to formalize the transfer, having voted to approve the deal at the last meeting. However, some councilors raised concerns about the deal and how the stadium's tenants — specifically the Southern Heritage Classic and AutoZone Liberty Bowl — would factor into it.

Fred Jones, the SHC founder, said at the Dec. 19 meeting that he hadn't seen the deal between the city and university until just before the meeting. Councilors still voted in favor of the resolution, but some said they could vote against approving the minutes at the next meeting to prevent the deal from being finalized.

The SHC announced Tuesday morning that it had reached an agreement to extend the game's lease until 2032, which seemed to clear up any problems heading into Tuesday's meeting. The minutes were approved as the first item on the agenda.

"We throw around the word 'transformational' a lot in this business, but this is truly a transformational moment," Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch said in a video posted on the Memphis Athletics YouTube channel shortly after the vote.

More: Memphis City Council approves deal to transfer Liberty Stadium, $120 million to UofM

Tuesday marks a significant moment in the stadium renovation saga that has been unfolding for more than a year. The original resolution to allocate $120 million for stadium renovations was introduced after months of discussions among the city, university and Memphis Grizzlies. Officials weighed how to divide $350 million allocated by the state for stadium renovation projections in the city, and a breakthrough came when FedEx founder and chairman Fred Smith and his family announced a $50 million donation for stadium renovations in November. The university announced a fundraising campaign for an additional $50 million, which would give it the $220 million it requires to renovate the stadium.

The university said in a news release after the vote that officials will "immediately" start that fundraising process. In the YouTube video, Veatch acknowledged that university officials had originally hoped to start renovations at the beginning of 2024 but had to delay plans because the money hadn't yet been secured. He said he hopes to fundraise the $50 million by the end of 2024.

"We really are confident in both the capacity and the collective will of Tiger nation to make that happen," Veatch said. "And it's really important that we capitalize on our momentum right now. Which we have a lot of. Not only the statement that we're talking about today, but also coming off a 10-win football season, what our men's basketball team is doing and so many of our sports have been highly successful. And on top of that, it doesn't hurt that we have really nice suites and club seats, loge boxes etc. to sell, which those top supporters will have first access to."

Veatch said university officials are discussing a timeline with construction teams, but the project is likely to be split into phases.

"The thought is to break it apart into phases," Veatch said. "The first phase would be essentially moving the gameday components, call it the gameday operational components, like the coaches booths, media, operations as well as television from the West side to the East side. And that will really unlock our ability to start the West side, which will be the second phase of the project. And that will include, of course, all the premium suites and club seats, all the things we're excited about but also really transform the look of the stadium."

More information on specific plans and timeframes is likely to be released in the coming months, Veatch said.

Discussions about stadium projects in Memphis are far from over, though. The city still needs to work out a deal with the Grizzlies for renovations at FedExForum, where city officials believe they're about $300 million short of the $550 million Grizzlies officials have said they need. The FedExForum renovations have been discussed throughout the entire stadium renovation process, and there is now $230 million left over from the state allocation for that project.

Renovations to AutoZone Park, where the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds and USL Championship soccer team Memphis 901 FC play home games, appear to be in flux. Those renovations — as well as a new soccer stadium at the site of the shuttered Mid-South Coliseum — were part of the original project but have fallen by the wayside as negotiations progressed.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football stadium officially transferred to university