Little Rock is seeking a vendor for a nontraditional golf entertainment venue to lease a portion of War Memorial Park, according to a request for proposals.
The park was formerly the site of War Memorial Golf Course, and its closure last summer because of city budget cuts kicked off a citywide conversation about new ideas for how the public space in the heart of Little Rock could be used.
A request for proposals put out July 1, with responses due July 22, states that the city is looking to lease an 18-acre tract near South University Avenue and West Sixth Street to a vendor providing "golf entertainment for people of all skill ability levels and ages" that is open year-round, integrates sports technology, and serves food and beverages.
That outline matches the description of Topgolf, a sports bar and nontraditional golf entertainment venue that Mayor Frank Scott Jr. previously has said he wants to bring to the city. City officials met with the company in early 2019.
[DOCUMENT: City of Little Rock's request for proposals » arkansasonline.com/711request/]
The chain combines a sports bar atmosphere with a nontraditional golf game, where golfers hit sensors across the green and see their points in virtual displays.
Stephanie Jackson, communications director for the mayor's office, said in a statement after news reports of the request for proposals surfaced that the request was not tailored specifically to Topgolf, and that it was written so that multiple companies may submit proposals.
"The city hopes and anticipates that it will receive multiple proposals from businesses interested in creating a golf entertainment or entertainment leisure site at War Memorial Park," she said in an email.
Representatives for Topgolf did not respond to a voicemail and email seeking comment Friday.
Derrick Rainey, the city's assistant purchasing manager, said the bid is active for advertisement, and no responses had been received as of Friday afternoon. Responses would be sealed until the bid period closes, Rainey added. The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for "files that, if disclosed, would give advantage to competitors or bidders."
Local food blog Rock City Eats first reported on the request for proposals.
After the 90-acre golf course at War Memorial Park ceased operations in July 2019, Scott convened a task force to consider new uses for the park and make recommendations to the city's Board of Directors.
In a January report, the group of residents proposed preserving pockets of open space in the park while adding large and small ball fields, a bike park, pavilions and picnic areas, a dog park, a playground and an open-lawn stage.
Uses for the park were also a frequent topic of discussion for the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, which also presented its consensus to the board in January.
"That consensus did not include Topgolf, and in fact discouraged commercial activities save for limited offerings that were in spirit with the outdoor nature of the park," commission chairman Jesse Gibson said Friday in an email.
The commission has not met since March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Gibson said the panel was not consulted about Topgolf or the request for proposals.
"This was news to me, and I predict we will discuss it at length when we are allowed to meet again," he said.
Ward 4 City Director Capi Peck, a board liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, said she didn't remember hearing anything about a golf entertainment venue in the task force recommendations nor in the comments the city solicited from residents. She added that she had not been informed that the request for proposals had been put out and was "flabbergasted" to hear about it.
"This has been such a hot topic since War Memorial was closed, and we spent a lot of time and energy on those listening sessions and convening those monthly meetings, and this just seems to come out of left field," Peck said.
She added that the request for proposals seemed tailor-made for Topgolf. Peck said she was open to a location of the sports entertainment chain in Little Rock, but not in War Memorial Park.
Peck said there had been lots of "shock and public outcry" from residents in response to the possibility because it would take up green space near a residential area, and mean lights and late hours. She also said she worried that it would affect a proposal to expand the Little Rock Zoo.
"I can't imagine the mayor's going to get support for that," Peck said.
Jackson said although the task force did not specifically recommend a golf entertainment site, one would align with the task force's recommendations.
"Additionally, the task force recommendations to create a multipurposed park including a regional youth sports complex, trails, and enhanced public green spaces remains a top priority for the park's close to 90 acres," she said.
The Parks and Recreation Commission's other board liaison, Ward 6's Doris Wright, said she wasn't aware of the request for proposals either but that she didn't have a problem with it. Wright said she had visited a Topgolf facility on a trip to Birmingham, Ala.
"I think the one I visited was very nice and people seemed to love it, and I'm open to try different things, and the very fact that we closed the golf course, it would be nice to give people that option to go back there and try a different type of golf," she said. "Maybe this will be a compromise."
Wright said she would want to find out more about the appearance of a golf entertainment venue in the park to see if it would blend in with the neighborhood.
"I would have to see the design, but I'm sure that we're going to have public meetings about it," she said.
For the city to lease parkland to a private business, state law requires that the city Board of Directors approve a resolution for the project to go forward, City Attorney Tom Carpenter said.
The city is required to go through a competitive selection process and advertise, then the responses go before the Board of Directors, which will decide which is in the best interest of the city, Carpenter said. The board could choose to refuse any of the proposals.
"They can just say, 'we don't think any of these are in our best interest and deny it,'" he said.
Scott has expressed interest in bringing Topgolf to the city on social media and in interviews since before he took office Jan. 1, 2019. In February 2019, his office confirmed that he had met with the Houston-based company and discussed real estate options in hopes of getting a Little Rock location.
Topgolf opened its first Arkansas location -- an 11-acre facility -- in Rogers in March. It was developed on privately owned property.
