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Northwest Arkansas Sports and Entertainment Arena


Julles

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I guess this will be in all the papers tomorrow, but this is the first I've heard of it. A new sports and entertaiment complex will be built off Highway 12 across from Polo Park and the Wingate Inn, near the NWA Regional Airport. This is a very exciting project, as it will be a venue for all sorts of entertainment, such as ice hockey, soccer, motocross, tractor pulls, concerts, etc. The facility will seat approximately 9000, with sky boxes, etc, and is expected to host 125-175 events a year. The project is budgeted at $35 to $45 million, and should be completed by fall of 2008.

Big news, I would say!

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I guess this will be in all the papers tomorrow, but this is the first I've heard of it. A new sports and entertaiment complex will be built off Highway 12 across from Polo Park and the Wingate Inn, near the NWA Regional Airport. This is a very exciting project, as it will be a venue for all sorts of entertainment, such as ice hockey, soccer, motocross, tractor pulls, concerts, etc. The facility will seat approximately 9000, with sky boxes, etc, and is expected to host 125-175 events a year. The project is budgeted at $35 to $45 million, and should be completed by fall of 2008.

Big news, I would say!

Wow, that sounds great. I really think the area could use something like this. You never told us you had inside sources. :D

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Wow, that sounds great. I really think the area could use something like this. You never told us you had inside sources. :D

Hee hee! I didn't know I had them either! :D One of my best girfriends has a boss who's in on a lot of the new stuff coming in around here. She said he came in to work yesterday grinning from ear to ear, like a kid in a candy store. He had just come from a meeting about the arena, and emailed her all the details. He sent site plans and renderings also. I would post them here, but I don't know if I have permission. If they're not in the paper this morning (I haven't seen it yet), I'll ask her if I can post them.

Whoa and another Whoa. Did I read that correctly? 125-175 events per year? That is mind boggling. Whoa.

Yes, and actually what it said was that they were expecting to host 125-175 events per year, occupying 225 event days. Meaning, I guess, that some events will span several days.

Just out of curiousity what type of events is everyone looking forward to the most?

They also mentioned circuses, which I left out of my first post. I think that's what I'll be looking forward to the most. Assuming it would be a real, Ringling Brothers, full-blown kind of deal, rather than the smaller ones we've been having.

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A few more details from the e-mail:

12 private investors

Seats 8500

Private Club/Executive Suites

1000 Club seats

24 sky boxes

50 acres

Off of Hwy 12 across from Polo Park and the Wingate Inn

Later will come additional retail and hotel

Break ground at the end of the year

Opening in 2008

Retail/hotel plans for 2010

So, the page labeled "press release" said up to 9000 seats; these notes added by my friend's boss say 8500 seats. I don't know which it is, but either way, I'm excited!

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Whoa and another Whoa. Did I read that correctly? 125-175 events per year? That is mind boggling. Whoa.

I was kind of wondering, myself, how they could possibly come up with that many events in a year. But it says "other family events as well as meeting and community events". So, that could encompass a lot of things.

Here's the full list. I would just post the whole press release, but I was afraid to due to board rules. Also, I'm rather incompetent when it comes to the computer :blush: , and I don't know how to cut and paste from an Adobe document.

".......These will include sporting events such as Hockey, Arena Football, Indoor Soccer, Motocross, basketball and other sports; entertainment events such as concerts, truck and tractor pulls, rodeo and equestrian events, circus and other family events as well as meeting and community events."

Also, "......The site will allow the Arena, parking for up to 3,000 vehicles and future development sites for hotel and retail components with access both north and south (east and west) on Highway 12, as well as planned connection to the proposed western bypass highway"

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Just out of curiousity what type of events is everyone looking forward to the most?

Tractor pulls! ...but only from my sky box.

I think this is a very interesting project, though I wonder about the location. So many visitors to NWA via XNA already complain about finding their way to/from there. Plus, there's no resturaunts, shopping, etc. nearby. But who knows, I suppose this 'might' jump-start development in the immediate area.

BTW, in case anyone hasn't seen the articles which Julles already beat to the press:

http://www.nwarktimes.com/bcdr/News/34968/

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/05/...bvillearena.txt

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Tractor pulls! ...but only from my sky box.

I think this is a very interesting project, though I wonder about the location. So many visitors to NWA via XNA already complain about finding their way to/from there. Plus, there's no resturaunts, shopping, etc. nearby. But who knows, I suppose this 'might' jump-start development in the immediate area.

BTW, in case anyone hasn't seen the articles which Julles already beat to the press:

http://www.nwarktimes.com/bcdr/News/34968/

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/05/...bvillearena.txt

"Might"?

This is south of where the Benton County fairgrounds are going in as well. I don't know whether a link was posted here or not, but Rachel Davis of the BCR reported about a month ago that, essentially, an entire town the size of Pea Ridge or Gravette is going to be built between the new fairgrounds and Fish Hatchery Rd. in southern Centerton.

And that's BEFORE Highfill (south of all this, with all else mentioned above to the north) brings in their 14,000 folks with the new development chronicled there.

Now, will they build a water tower with mouse ears? Oops, wrong place... :lol::P;):rofl:

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From todays Benton County Record story:

ASEP will own a minorleague hockey franchise and an indoor football franchise in northwest Arkansas, he said. They are working to bring a minor league basketball team here as well. "I
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My favorite tidbits from the NWAtimes article:

Skyboxes with private butlers serving steak dinners and alcohol of your choice... (!!!!!!!)

In the words of MasonsDad - Whoa! and double whoa! I guess this is probably the norm for skyboxes, but I had no idea!

Disney on Ice, Harlem Globetrotters and Sesame Street. Now that sounds like fun to me!

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"Might"?

This is south of where the Benton County fairgrounds are going in as well. I don't know whether a link was posted here or not, but Rachel Davis of the BCR reported about a month ago that, essentially, an entire town the size of Pea Ridge or Gravette is going to be built between the new fairgrounds and Fish Hatchery Rd. in southern Centerton.

And that's BEFORE Highfill (south of all this, with all else mentioned above to the north) brings in their 14,000 folks with the new development chronicled there.

Now, will they build a water tower with mouse ears? Oops, wrong place... :lol::P;):rofl:

Yeah, might. I mean in the immediate area. Ever since XNA was built (late 90's?), I remember reading article after article in the local newspapers about developers and local land owners waiting and expecting development to follow in that immediate area around XNA. What's out there now? A Wingate Inn? That empty office building the article mentions has been there for I think several years... still empty.

Of course I'm sure at least some of the lack-of-development might have to do with uncertainty about the XNA connector road (rather than lack of demand), which can only be built as soon as the western portion of the 412 bypass is built.

I'm sure the arena will do well.

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How close will the arena be to XNA? I know i read somwhere that in the future that they may add a runway on the east side (close to the arena) of the airport.

That's a good point! I've heard the same thing from XNA officials. XNA might be out of luck in the near future if they don't secure the needed properties for future expansion. Or rather, they'll have to pay a lot more in the future when they want to expand, since there might be something built on it that's in the way.

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Yeah, might. I mean in the immediate area. Ever since XNA was built (late 90's?), I remember reading article after article in the local newspapers about developers and local land owners waiting and expecting development to follow in that immediate area around XNA. What's out there now? A Wingate Inn? That empty office building the article mentions has been there for I think several years... still empty.

Of course I'm sure at least some of the lack-of-development might have to do with uncertainty about the XNA connector road (rather than lack of demand), which can only be built as soon as the western portion of the 412 bypass is built.

I'm sure the arena will do well.

Right now there's also (just northwest of the see-through office building) a VERY nice apartment complex that's gone in.

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Yeah, might. I mean in the immediate area. Ever since XNA was built (late 90's?), I remember reading article after article in the local newspapers about developers and local land owners waiting and expecting development to follow in that immediate area around XNA. What's out there now? A Wingate Inn? That empty office building the article mentions has been there for I think several years... still empty.

ITK, I don't know about how occupied it is, but right north/northwest of the vacant office building is "The Glen at Polo Park", which IMO is the nicest apartment complex I've yet seen in NWA. I've been inside the office as they let us put flyers for our business in their folders for tenants and prospective tenants. It's the only apartment complex I've yet seen with an indoor basketball court (and a quite nice one).

It's essentially southwest of the new fairgrounds (and the "new community" on the map on the other thread), west/northwest of the new arena and straight north of XNA and the Wingate Inn.

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I've got to say, it's among the nicest apartments in Benton County that I've seen. I always love going past Vaughn on the way to the airport and then seeing those beautiful apartments on the right. Great to see development out that way!!

BTW, I forgot to mention that the Gazette mentioned that a Minor League Hockey Team, Minor League Basketball Team, and an Arena Football Team would come to the new Sports Complex!!!

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I've got to say, it's among the nicest apartments in Benton County that I've seen. I always love going past Vaughn on the way to the airport and then seeing those beautiful apartments on the right. Great to see development out that way!!

BTW, I forgot to mention that the Gazette mentioned that a Minor League Hockey Team, Minor League Basketball Team, and an Arena Football Team would come to the new Sports Complex!!!

map2.jpg

Thanks, mcheiss.

I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, but in a way it seems like the growth out here in near west Benton County seems to be coming together like pictures I saw of early construction in Dubai and/or other parts of the UAE. You see big buildings arising almost haphazardly out of nowhere with somewhat wide spaces in between and around, but what starts growing up around them becomes something astounding.

The picture above is looking almost directly south...and notice the wire fence immediately in front of me. You see the southeast complexes of The Glen at Polo Park farther south in the picture, but the northern face of the north complexes are almost parallel with that wire fence, and the apartments are densely packed in between. This is a BIG complex.

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I've got to say, it's among the nicest apartments in Benton County that I've seen. I always love going past Vaughn on the way to the airport and then seeing those beautiful apartments on the right. Great to see development out that way!!

BTW, I forgot to mention that the Gazette mentioned that a Minor League Hockey Team, Minor League Basketball Team, and an Arena Football Team would come to the new Sports Complex!!!

The arena football team might be rather welcome because I still haven't found out if the Arkansas Stars even exist anymore. They're last game was postponed but I haven't seen any info on why.

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I would think that if the Arkansas Stars are still going they would just be moved to the new arena once completed. It wouldn't make much sense to have two minor league Arena Football teams. Anyway's I am glad that NWA is getting a minor league Hockey Team. I hope that they will be in the same leauge as the Springfield Spirit so we can play each other. :D

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