LITTLE ROCK — In February 2000, the “Great Stadium Debate” took a personal turn.
Working for The Associated Press, I staffed a meeting at which the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees would decide whether to move most of the Razorback home football games to Fayetteville.
Late that morning, I called the office to report the board voted 9-1 to limit Little Rock to two games in 11 of the next 15 seasons and hurried back to flesh out the story.
Barely through the office door, I was reminded that the topic was of such interest that afternoon papers throughout the state were holding for the story. The copy didn’t exactly flow and the yelling that ensued between editor and author is best described as memorable.
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With the help of Google, my bylined story was recently located — each of the first five paragraphs consisting of a single sentence.
The sixth paragraph began with an “I’m thrilled” from then-athletics director Frank Broyles who added that despite the controversy that pitted other parts of the state against Northwest Arkansas, the board’s decision “gives us a chance to unify the state.”
Seventeen years later, the state is still divided over whether Arkansas should play football games in Little Rock although resignation was palpable after a relatively small crowd turned out on a Thursday night in late August for Arkansas 49, Florida A&M 7 at War Memorial.
Almost three months later, the vibe is different, more optimistic.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s enthusiasm for Little Rock games is a big factor. So, too, the departure of athletics director Jeff Long.
Four years ago, when the War Memorial Stadium Commission approved an extension of the contract for University of Arkansas football games, I reasoned commission members were only delaying the inevitable — that instead of 2016, Razorback games were going to be gone from Little Rock after 2018.
Turns out, that action might be the epitome of a “Hail Mary” because the extended contract lasted long enough for a governor to take office who was willing to stand up and say he wanted games in Little Rock.
Recently, Hutchinson made that point with Long and UA Chancellor Joe Steinmetz.
“I expressed that I thought it beneficial for the Razorback program to have games in Little Rock,” Hutchinson said.
Originally, the stadium contract with the UA called for two games in Little Rock each year through 2016. Under the revised contract, the commission agreed to turn back a Razorback game to the UA each of the next three years — in other words, instead of having six games in Little Rock during a three-year period, there would be five games in five years.
Long and commission chairman Kevin Crass negotiated the agreement. After the commission vote, Crass said he knew the commission “had a desire” to have games beyond 2016 and had asked Long if he would be “open to a creative solution.”
Whether or not the current UA Board of Trustees has voted to push to continue games in Little Rock is unclear, but a majority of the board members seem to support such a position. Maybe it’s just a cover, but the reasoning of many appears to be “the governor wants it, therefore we want it.”
For sure, Hutchinson is encouraging the UA to look into playing the Missouri game on Thanksgiving weekend in Little Rock. Such a move might get a positive nudge this week if a paltry crowd shows up for Friday’s game vs. the Tigers in Fayetteville.
Last week, the statewide newspaper had a front-page story that said War Memorial needed as much as $10 million in renovations and upgrades to continue to host Razorback games, according to UA officials. However, about one-third of that sum would be used to meet minimum requirements for football facilities that are supposed to be drawn up by a working group of SEC athletic directors that has yet to meet.
On the must-do list is replacing artificial turf at a cost of $500,000 to $700,000. Also on the UA’s list of needed upgrades is a room for a post-game news conference at a cost of $100,000 to $250,000. It’s been a long time since I did the post-game thing in person, but $250,000 to accommodate such an event is exorbitant.
One thing is certain, the stadium’s current capacity and parking must be maintained for War Memorial to be a viable option for the Razorbacks.
Personal perspective concerning the attraction of Razorback games in Little Rock differs from that of many who were born and raised in Central Arkansas. A Russian immigrant trying to support a wife and three children, my dad had no time for sports. Pretty much oblivious to the Razorbacks, mom once offered to pursue tickets to Arkansas vs. Texas A&M only to find out that the College Station game site was in Texas and not at the College Station just east of Little Rock.
In the late 1950s, my first in-person Razorback game was made possible by a young man who agreed to sell his credential for a little less than $10 rather than use the pass to work the concession stand.
The next time I remember watching a Razorback game at War Memorial, I was working in the pressbox in the late 1960s. During the next three decades, it never occurred to me that Little Rock games would be threatened until the expansion of Razorback Stadium in 2000-01.
Long before that, the statewide importance of Razorback football was a can’t-miss message for those working in The Arkansas Gazette sports department in the ‘60s. Not only was my boss the leading media expert on Razorback football, but the sports department was on the second floor of The Gazette building, hard by Third Street where cars moved slowly, horns honking in celebration after Razorback victories a few miles to the West.
Speaking to both touchdown clubs in Arkansas this fall, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville pushed for Razorback games at War Memorial where he attended games and fell in love with football.
“I understand the stadium needs some fixing up,” said Tuberville, who grew up around Camden. “It might not be easy, but find the money. Do it. It’s important.”
All that said, cold, hard numbers say playing in Little Rock makes no sense.
UA officials have told the Arkansas Departments of Parks and Tourism, now in charge of War Memorial, that the average per-game revenue is $7.4 million at Razorback Stadium vs. $3.7 million at War Memorial and that the difference in net revenue will be higher in 2018 and beyond.
Admittedly trite, my rebuttal is that money is not everything.
This article originally appeared in Hawgs Illustrated