HOT SPRINGS -- The developer who offered $2,163,128 for the Majestic Hotel property wants the Hot Springs Board of Directors to have more information before it considers his plan to build the 6,000-seat Majestic Entertainment Pavilion on the 5 acres that's sat idle since 2006.
The board was scheduled to consider the offer at its May 18 business meeting but tabled it Tuesday until after a June 22 work session. R.A. Wilson Enterprises President/CEO Rick Wilson said he asked for the delay to allow time for Peters & Associates Engineers Inc. to complete the mobility study he commissioned. The study will include traffic counts generated by other outdoor entertainment venues, including the much larger Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers.
Wilson said Wednesday that coupons for ride-sharing services will be included with concert tickets, which he hopes will ease concerns about parking. He said a 6,000-seat venue doesn't require 6,000 parking spaces.
"It doesn't cost you anything, so you're going to get an automatic opportunity to be driven to the venue," he said. "That's very popular these days. Most other venues are finding about 35% to 45% of their patrons are brought by Uber or Lyft. We have every reason to expect the same for the Hot Springs area."
Wilson said the study will be posted on his company's website, http://www.wilent.net, in a few weeks. The rendering of the venue's preliminary concept posted last month has had more than 8,000 views, he said.
Neighboring properties and businesses Wilson has approached in recent weeks have responded positively to his proposal, he said.
"Hot Springs needs something to bring people to downtown," he said, noting that the venue would operate from 5-10 p.m., with acts performing from 7-10 p.m. "In order for the bars, hotels and restaurants and tourism and the shopping to thrive, there has to be reasons to bring people downtown. We are going to be one of the primary reasons they come to downtown.
"This brings a large number of people downtown. Our curfew will be 10 p.m. Those businesses that operate until midnight or 1 a.m., a lot of these people are headed to those places. A lot of them will go to those places and have dinner before coming to our venue."
Wilson said in addition to the mobility study, other information, such as plans to keep lighting and sound from encroaching on neighboring properties, sales tax revenue the venue is projected to generate and the type of entertainers who will be booked, will be presented at the June 22 meeting.