FAYETTEVILLE — Walton Arts Center administrators provided more detail Friday about the rationale for wanting to move the Arkansas Music Pavilion to Rogers.
The arts center’s board is scheduled Tuesday to review an $11 million proposal for the concert venue across Interstate 540 from Pinnacle Hills Promenade. Plans include a 5,600-square-foot stage, 3,000 covered seats and a sloped lawn for up to 1,800 people.
Peter Lane, CEO of the arts center, said a location for the outdoor amphitheater shouldn’t pit Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville against each other.
“I’m competing against Tulsa, Kansas City and maybe Dallas,” Lane said. “I need to be able to compete with them to get the best artists to Northwest Arkansas.”
Patrons shouldn’t have to leave the area to see performances by James Taylor or Mumford & Sons, he added.
The Washington County Fairgrounds has been a good temporary spot for the music pavilion for the past two seasons, said Beth Bobbitt, center public relations manager. A more permanent venue with fixed seats and better amenities will give visitors an improved concert-going experience, Bobbitt said.
She added having sole ownership of the property is a big plus. Concert promoters won’t have to work around schedules for the Washington County Fair or Bikes, Blues & BBQ motorcycle rally.
Lane said arts center administrators considered sites in Fayetteville and Springdale before choosing Rogers.
A handful of donors have committed to more than 90 percent of the $11 million price tag, Lane said. He wouldn't elaborate on where the money is coming from, saying those details will be discussed Tuesday. The site, south of the Embassy Suites Hotel and owned by Hunt Ventures, has multiple entryways and has streets and other infrastructure in place, Lane said.
Plans for a regional park in southwest Fayetteville, a site that was considered, show one entryway with no infrastructure.
Meeting Information (w/logo)
Walton Arts Center Council
When: 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville
On the Agenda: A proposed permanent location for the Arkansas Music Pavilion
“Three thousand cars all at the same time — that needs major infrastructure,” Lane said. He said he reviewed a master plan for the regional park with city officials about a year ago.
“The master plan did not have a space for a large-format, outdoor, professional amphitheater,” Lane said.
Connie Edmonston, Fayetteville Parks and Recreation director, has said she envisioned a smaller bandstand, similar to the stage at Gulley Park but would work with any group that wants to expand on those plans.
Lane also said Friday about 80 percent of donations to the Walton Arts Center come from Benton County. That includes money from the Walton Family Foundation, Walmart and other corporate donors.
“When you look at the dynamics of patrons, sponsors and stakeholders, it really is a regional organization,” Lane said.
He added opening the music pavilion in Rogers in 2014 would provide steady revenue to support expansion and renovation of the arts center’s Fayetteville campus as well as a planned performing arts center in Bentonville.
A revised timeline shows construction in Fayetteville beginning in July 2014 and taking two years to complete. The Bentonville center will follow.
Messages left with Rogers Mayor Greg Hines and Raymond Burns, president and CEO of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, weren't returned Thursday or Friday.