Fayetteville Town Center
by July 14, 1997 12:00 am 81 views
As for competition, Fayetteville officials say they compete every day with Springdale and other communities, including Hot Springs and Little Rock, that have meeting sites.
The city does have the University of Arkansas Center for Continuing Education, which offers meeting space and accouterments. It’s adjacent to the Hilton Hotel, so rooms and food service are convenient. However, there is no exhibition hall and that, promoters say, is necessary to land many meetings.
Marilyn Snapp, director of convention and visitor development for the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, says the center is critical to the revitalization of the city’s downtown.
“No. 1, we’re anticipating this will generate about $1.5 million in additional revenue and about $3.5 million across the board. That means a lot for Fayetteville [and helps provide additional tax money] to pay for other needed improvements,” she says.
The $1.5 million Snapp mentioned is what officials estimate new visitors will spend each year. The $3.5 million refers to the economic impact as those dollars rollover throughout the community.
Chamber officials recently entertained 150 to 200 of the state’s association planners and found that a number of those people were interested in bringing their groups to Fayetteville if the city had adequate facilities, Snapp says. In addition, she believes the city could tap into reunions for the University of Arkansas’ fraternities and sororities plus activities such as proms and weddings could also be scheduled.
Snapp says the center won’t be built if voters don’t approve the bond issue next month. The bond issue would be guaranteed by the city’s 1 percent hotel-motel-restaurant tax, but officials hope to capture some state turnback funds to pay for project. Snapp says the city would be eligible if it shows that the center draws out-of-town visitors. In addition, the city’s Advertising and Promotion Commission has $1 million in reserve it has pledged to use for the center.
Bretches, the Springdale convention center manager, notes that most of the proposed new facilities would be paid for with some kind of tax money unlike his, which was privately funded.