SEC denies Hogs' request to have spring scrimmage at War Memorial Stadium

Arkansas kicks off to Missouri as fans cheer on the Hogs during the third quarter of the Razorbacks' 24-14 loss to Missouri on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Arkansas kicks off to Missouri as fans cheer on the Hogs during the third quarter of the Razorbacks' 24-14 loss to Missouri on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

— The Southeastern Conference has denied the University of Arkansas’ request to hold its final spring scrimmage at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

As part of the Razorbacks’ multi-year contract with War Memorial Stadium, the university had agreed to play its spring game in Little Rock three times between 2020-24, pending approval of a waiver by the SEC, which does not permit off-campus spring football practices. The waiver request was denied Thursday in a letter from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.

“After review of information provided by the institution, the institution’s request is hereby denied due to a lack of extenuating circumstances which warrant relief from the normal application of the Conference’s on-campus practice requirements,” Sankey wrote.

Arkansas’ final spring scrimmage will now be held Saturday, April 25 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. A start time and format for the scrimmage has not been determined, but it will be open to the public.

The Razorbacks' first spring practice under new head coach Sam Pittman is scheduled to begin March 16.

SEC bylaw 17.1.9(d)(2) states that all football practices, including instrasquad scrimmages such as spring games, must be held on campus, except for ones that are held in a facility that is used twice each year for regular-season games. Arkansas has not played multiple games at War Memorial Stadium since 2013.

On Feb. 1, UA deputy director of athletics Jon Fagg formally requested the venue change to War Memorial Stadium in a letter to Sankey. In his letter, Fagg wrote that playing a scrimmage in Little Rock “is a wonderful opportunity to maintain” a presence in the city.

“It will allow the university, not merely athletics, to have additional engagement opportunities with our alumni and friends in Central Arkansas,” Fagg wrote.

“War Memorial is not merely a ‘facility’ used by the university, as the applicable bylaw addresses. It is a home stadium and we feel it should be treated as part of our campus.”

The Razorbacks extended their contract with War Memorial in May 2018 to run through 2024. As part of the agreement, Arkansas will play Missouri at the stadium in odd-numbered years through 2023, and would have played its spring game there in even-numbered years.

For spring scrimmages, the Razorbacks would pay War Memorial a rental fee of $75,000, according to the contract.

Sankey’s denial this week was for this year only and not for future spring scrimmages scheduled to be held in Little Rock. In 2018, the SEC granted Arkansas a waiver to play its spring game in Little Rock while the Razorbacks’ on-campus stadium was being renovated.

“Unfortunately, we did not receive the necessary waiver to accommodate the spring game at War Memorial Stadium as originally planned,” UA athletics director Hunter Yurachek wrote in a statement Friday. “However, we will continue to explore additional opportunities to enhance the numerous events already being held throughout the state to help bring the Razorbacks closer to our fans.”

Sankey's denial of a waiver means the Razorbacks will not have any football presence in Little Rock this year. Arkansas is scheduled to play seven games on campus for the first time ever, and won't play a game in Little Rock for the first time since 1931. The Razorbacks have played at least once each year at War Memorial Stadium since it opened in 1948.

A series of new or extended contracts have lengthened the amount of years Arkansas will play at War Memorial, but stripped away the frequency with which it plays there. As recently as the 1990s, the Razorbacks played four games in a single season in Little Rock, including multiple SEC games.

The number of games has dwindled as Arkansas' on-campus stadium has received a series of renovations while the Little Rock stadium began to show wear. In 2017, then-UA athletics director Jeff Long said War Memorial was in need of repairs totaling between $4.85 million and $10 million to remain a viable long-term host for the Razorbacks, and the following year a report commissioned by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism found that the stadium could need up to $17 million in repairs to remain in useful condition.

The stadium completed $2.1 million in renovations between the Razorbacks' games there in 2018 and 2019, and the stadium is in the early stages of designing a 3,221-square foot home locker room that would cost between $700,000 and $950,000, and should be completed by Arkansas' game there against Missouri next year.

Those renovations were outlined in the 2018 contract extension between the two sides, as was a benchmark for the stadium to sell at least 47,000 tickets to each game the Razorbacks play there and earn ticket revenue of at least $2.1 million each game.

The Arkansas-Missouri game played in Little Rock in November sold an announced 33,961 tickets.

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