City announces official Walton Arts Center expansion proposal
The City of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas have partnered to support an expansion of the Walton Arts Center at its current location and to offer the use of UA sports facilities for Walton Arts Center concerts.
The proposal offers unique benefits that Mayor Lioneld Jordan says are not attainable anywhere else in Northwest Arkansas.
“It meets and exceeds the criteria set forth by the Board,” said Jordan in a statement, “and it provides even greater revenue opportunities with the addition of large indoor and outdoor venues for concerts at Bud Walton Arena and Reynolds Razorback Stadium – existing facilities no other proposal can match.”
The proposed 7.04 acres of expansion properties around the current campus, when combined with the Walton Arts Center’s existing facility and the UA-owned Nadine Baum Studios, comprise 11.58 acres.
The structures that make up the proposed site include the Walton Arts Center, its administrative offices, Nadine Baum Studios, and Grub’s Bar and Grille. The proposal also suggests acquisition of eight privately-owned residential properties.
We’ll have more on this soon, but for now, here’s the gist of the proposal:
- Expand at current location using 7 acres of city, UA, and privately-owned land
- Offer the use of Bud Walton Arena and Reynolds Razorback Stadium for WAC concerts
- Expanded site will accommodate a 2,200-seat theater and a 600-800 seat theater.
- Offer to construct a 600-800-seat theater though private donor funds as well as University contributions and the refinancing of existing Town Center bonds
- Offer to construct additional parking facilities – one on School Avenue and one on Spring/West which will add 1,140 parking spaces to the 298 spaces currently available in the existing surface parking
All of the proposals for the expansion of the Walton Arts Center are expected to be available on the Walton Arts Center website sometime tomorrow.
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