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Dickey-Stephens Park


Should a new stadium be constructed in War Memorial Park or by the Broadyway Bridge in North Little Rock's downtown?  

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  1. 1. Should a new stadium be constructed in War Memorial Park or by the Broadyway Bridge in North Little Rock's downtown?

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I don't see a need at this time for a parking deck for Alltel and the ballpark. A deck around Pike and I-40 would be a better choice. If they ran buses out of it. It could serve as parking for downtown LR, Pulaski Tech as well as Alltel and the ballpark. Other cities have built decks and offer free bus service for their users.

A lot of people are willing to pay $10 for premium parking in the deck for special events for reasons of security and convenience. I usually pay the $15 to get a Platinum Pass at American Airlines down here to park in the deck. I don't think people would be willing to pay to park in a deck and THEN ride the bus. However, they could bus from that lot to other places if need be. UAMS uses War Memorial's lots in that way, busing over to campus.

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Alternate Travelers logo, featuring Gen. Robert E. Lee on his horse, Traveler:

ArkansasTravelers_AltLogo.jpg

I never got the name Arkansas Travelers until now. I also wondered why they'd name a team after people who go places/tourist. But now, it makes sense! That is a great logo! Is it going to be the official one for the team? Didn't it used to be a bear carrying a suitcase?

Good luck with the new stadium by the way!

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Alternate Travelers logo, featuring Gen. Robert E. Lee on his horse, Traveler:

ArkansasTravelers_AltLogo.jpg

I never got the name Arkansas Travelers until now. I also wondered why they'd name a team after people who go places/tourist. But now, it makes sense! That is a great logo! Is it going to be the official one for the team? Didn't it used to be a bear carrying a suitcase?

Good luck with the new stadium by the way!

The Arkansas Traveler comes from a story about a city gentleman traveling Arkansas in the 1840's.

Painting from the 1850's by Edward Payson Washburn.

at_nov03_legends3.jpg

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Alternate Travelers logo, featuring Gen. Robert E. Lee on his horse, Traveler:

ArkansasTravelers_AltLogo.jpg

I never got the name Arkansas Travelers until now. I also wondered why they'd name a team after people who go places/tourist. But now, it makes sense! That is a great logo! Is it going to be the official one for the team? Didn't it used to be a bear carrying a suitcase?

Good luck with the new stadium by the way!

Thanks! The horse mascot does come from Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveler, but Skirby is right about the story of the Arkansas Traveler. That's where the team, dating to 1895, took it's name. (The team was actually known as the Little Rock Travelers until 1957.) It's a well-known Arkansas legend. There was a play of this name in the 1850s, and it's the name of a popular fiddle tune. The Arkansas Governor's Office presents an Arkansas Traveler certificate to out-of-state visitors as an honorary award, and the school newspaper at the University of Arkansas is named The Arkansas Traveler.

No, the mascot has never been a bear carrying a suitcase. :huh:

Following are quotes from the Travs website.

THE NAME

The name "Arkansas Travelers" is derived from the famous minstrel known as the The Arkansas Traveler that roamed the Ozark Mountains selling his wares and singing his songs. The team was originally known as the Little Rock Travelers. In 1961, the team became known, as it is today, as the Arkansas Travelers, the first professional team to be named for an entire state.

THE CAP

The Travelers official game cap is navy blue with a red bill and button. On the front is a red, capital letter "A" with player waving a bat, riding a horse through it. The horse stems from Confederate General, Robert E. Lee

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I've actually been reading up a little on the Civil War and also visiting some of the Civil War sites up here in NWA. Robert E Lee really was a great general. It wasn't even really that he wanted to fight against the Union or was a big advocate of slavery. Unfortunately it's still just one of those issues that's hard to talk about and he's associated with it. It would be nice to be able to better appreciate Robert E Lee's attributes without seeming to be supportive of the 'Old South' or seeming racist.

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Thanks! The horse mascot does come from Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveler, but Skirby is right about the story of the Arkansas Traveler. That's where the team, dating to 1895, took it's name. (The team was actually known as the Little Rock Travelers until 1957.) It's a well-known Arkansas legend. There was a play of this name in the 1850s, and it's the name of a popular fiddle tune. The Arkansas Governor's Office presents an Arkansas Traveler certificate to out-of-state visitors as an honorary award, and the school newspaper at the University of Arkansas is named The Arkansas Traveler.

No, the mascot has never been a bear carrying a suitcase. :huh:

Following are quotes from the Travs website.

It is and has been the logo since 2004, but more on that later.

I think it's a great logo; forget political correctness. Lee is one of my favorite historical figures because of his character. Theodore Roosevelt called Lee, "the very greatest of all the great captains that the English-speaking peoples have brought forth." Lee was considered one of America's greatest heroes by Harry Truman, who said a prayer written by Lee daily. Winston Churchill described him as "One of the noblest Americans who ever lived. His noble presence and gentle, kindly manner were sustained by religious faith and an exalted character."

Despite the stature of the men from which these previous compliments come, a more telling view of Lee comes from Rev. William Mack Lee, his former slave. He writes:

It is without fail that if one looks at historical documents to form an opinion of Robert E. Lee, and not the white-washed history taught today, he can be rightly seen as a great American. This article by Richard Poe titled "The Lessons of Robert E. Lee" might change some opinions.

Both U.S. Grant and Lee had slaves, but both men condemned the practice; still, only Lee is vilified by members of the political correctness crowd. This white-washing of history is so out of control that Washington and Jefferson are being defamed by some, and there are now groups clamoring for the removal of Andrew Jackson from the twenty-dollar bill.

I don't think anyone can procure a single legitimate claim as to why Lee shouldn't grace the caps of the Travelers.

As mentioned above, the logo of Gen. Lee was introduced in 2004. Here are photos of merchandise from the Travs website.

202.jpeg.300.jpeg

283.jpeg.300.jpeg

You're right, there's a giant conspiracy out there.

Everybody has heard that General Lee was basically a good guy. We read in our history books that the only reason he fought for the south--despite his objections about slavery--is that he felt he could not betray his homeland.

But there is one problem for many people: he still represented the racist side.

Get a grip.

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But there is one problem for many people: he still represented the racist side.

The "racist side"?

You know the south doesn't have a monopoly on racism, right? You know there were many racists fighting and living in the north, and many non-racist fighting and living in the south, right?

Robert E. Lee was a great man. His home has been preserved and turned into a museum at the top of Arlington National Cemetery, I guess we need to burn it because he represented the "racist side.''

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The "racist side"?

You know the south doesn't have a monopoly on racism, right? You know there were many racists fighting and living in the north, and many non-racist fighting and living in the south, right?

Robert E. Lee was a great man. His home has been preserved and turned into a museum at the top of Arlington National Cemetery, I guess we need to burn it because he represented the "racist side.''

I agree about Lee and the most racist people and IMO the most racist cities are in the North. Detroit and Cincinatti are worse than any cities in the South in those terms. Race relations in Southern metros like Atlanta, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Nashville, and Dallas are really pretty progressive.

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It looks like the complaining about the new park has started. Mayor Hays wants to charge for parking. Members of the Travs organization are opposed. They don't think people will come to watch a ballgame if they have to pay $5 to park. In LR a season ticket holder pays either $150 or $201 for a season pass and does not pay for parking. Maybe the Travs should look at their ticket prices. The cheapest Texas League season ticket price I could find was $275 and goes up to $1,000+. Some include the price of parking and others do not. Little Rock season ticket holders are paying less than $3 per game. I wonder when the last time there was a price increase. It looks like at those prices they would sell out every night.

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It looks like the complaining about the new park has started. Mayor Hays wants to charge for parking. Members of the Travs organization are opposed. They don't think people will come to watch a ballgame if they have to pay $5 to park. In LR a season ticket holder pays either $150 or $201 for a season pass and does not pay for parking. Maybe the Travs should look at their ticket prices. The cheapest Texas League season ticket price I could find was $275 and goes up to $1,000+. Some include the price of parking and others do not. Little Rock season ticket holders are paying less than $3 per game. I wonder when the last time there was a price increase. It looks like at those prices they would sell out every night.

Well, I thought nobody minded paying $5 for parking. I'm sure they do it in Memphis and Chicago.

I think charging for parking is acceptable but $3 would be more reasonable. The Travs' backbone has been ticket giveaways and you don't want to negate the "free game" thing by charging too much for parking. Besides, there was an abundance of free parking around RWF that downtown NLR doesn't have and Valentine knew this beforehand.

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Well, I thought nobody minded paying $5 for parking. I'm sure they do it in Memphis and Chicago.

I think charging for parking is acceptable but $3 would be more reasonable. The Travs' backbone has been ticket giveaways and you don't want to negate the "free game" thing by charging too much for parking. Besides, there was an abundance of free parking around RWF that downtown NLR doesn't have and Valentine knew this beforehand.

In Memphis it cost more than $5. If you park in the deck along the left field line you also get a great view of the park. You could watch the game from the parking deck.

Valentine has already said the city could not afford the expense if parking was only $2, so he is against any fee.

I think this will be worked out before the park opens. I don't see how season ticket prices will remain below $3 per game. As for the "free game" thing at RWF I don't see it as a carryover to the new park. They couldn't fill up RWF with it maybe because a large number of people didn't like going to RWF. I spent many of nights there and I will not miss it. If they added a CAT service charge into the ticket price like they do like they do at Altell then shuttles could be used. Park free and ride free. What a deal.

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In Memphis it cost more than $5. If you park in the deck along the left field line you also get a great view of the park. You could watch the game from the parking deck.

Valentine has already said the city could not afford the expense if parking was only $2, so he is against any fee.

I think this will be worked out before the park opens. I don't see how season ticket prices will remain below $3 per game. As for the "free game" thing at RWF I don't see it as a carryover to the new park. They couldn't fill up RWF with it maybe because a large number of people didn't like going to RWF. I spent many of nights there and I will not miss it. If they added a CAT service charge into the ticket price like they do like they do at Altell then shuttles could be used. Park free and ride free. What a deal.

If we had the Cards' AAA club, things might be a little different.

I always ride the shuttle to Alltel events but remember there's a surcharge on each ticket to pay for that, whether you ride it or not. When you're paying $140 to see a Stones concert that paltry $1.50 fee doesn't seem like much but when we're talking $5 tickets it would be more noticable.

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If we had the Cards' AAA club, things might be a little different.

I always ride the shuttle to Alltel events but remember there's a surcharge on each ticket to pay for that, whether you ride it or not. When you're paying $140 to see a Stones concert that paltry $1.50 fee doesn't seem like much but when we're talking $5 tickets it would be more noticable.

I think you need to check but the shuttle fee is 75 cents for Altell. They also have a $1 building fee.

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I think you need to check but the shuttle fee is 75 cents for Altell. They also have a $1 building fee.

Fair enough, but since attendance at Travs games will probably be only 1/2 to 1/3 of that at Alltel events, they'd need to increase that 3-4 fold to collect the same moneys. You could argue they could run fewer buses but if you've ever sat there waiting for those buses, you wouldn't want that many fewer.

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I think the whole deal over a $5 parking fee is what you get for the money and who's paying it. For some people $5 is too much for a cup of coffee but for those standing in line at Starbucks its not. What about $5 for a beer. $4 for a hot dog. $20 for a baseball cap. A few years ago a $200 dvd player was a good deal now ask anyone who shops at Wal-mart whats a good price for one($50 or less). When oil was first refined gasoline was either discarded or given away. Somethings go up in price, some go down, others you pay and don't even think about it. When was the last time you bought gas and thought about the amount of taxes you were paying?

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's cool that Little Rock has someone like Stephens to help out on things like this. Even though we have some bigger names up here in NWA you don't hear them helping out as much as you'd think.

The only bigger names are the Waltons. The Stephens family has as much money as the Tysons, remember their entire company is privately owned and it's the largest off-Wall Street brokerage in the country. What IS nice is they are willing to continually invest in Little Rock, something the Waltons, Tysons, and Jones families did in NWA but a lot of the wealthy down here don't. Win Rockefeller does a lot of charity work, more than any Arkansan, but he doesn't give much locally. The Dillard's don't seem to do much at all, really.

I'm ready to see more finely tuned sketches of the stadium than the conceptual drawings we saw before.

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The only bigger names are the Waltons. The Stephens family has as much money as the Tysons, remember their entire company is privately owned and it's the largest off-Wall Street brokerage in the country. What IS nice is they are willing to continually invest in Little Rock, something the Waltons, Tysons, and Jones families did in NWA but a lot of the wealthy down here don't. Win Rockefeller does a lot of charity work, more than any Arkansan, but he doesn't give much locally. The Dillard's don't seem to do much at all, really.

I'm ready to see more finely tuned sketches of the stadium than the conceptual drawings we saw before.

True I don't hear much about the Dillard's. The Waltons and Tysons do things to a certain degree. But I don't think it's as much as some people might think. Outside of the university what have they done? The Walton Arts Center and the future Crystal Bridges. I can't think of anything else offhand. It's not to say I'm not grateful for what we have. But it would be nice to see someone like the Waltons do a little more considering how much money they have and make the area even better.

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I think the biggest example of "famous people" in NWA giving back were Harvey and Bernic Jones, especially to Springdale.

But back to a post Aporkalypse made about Win Rockefeller doing more charity work than any other Arkansan, have you heard of Dick Trammel? He's always in the newspaper or "Celebrate NWA" magazine doing some kind of charity work, volunteer work, or being a helping hand.

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