Ballpark, arena could be part of Fort Smith riverfront

Within 12 months there could be a short list of “high-quality” groups and individuals interested in helping develop about 1.5 miles of Arkansas riverfront near downtown Fort Smith.

Bennie Westphal, a Fort Smith businessman and riverfront property owner, spoke before the city board of directors during the Saturday (Jan. 10) board retreat about the need for the area to pull together a “public-private team” to make numerous riverfront development options become reality.

Westphal suggested a minor league baseball team, a sports/concert arena, greenspace, memorial chapel and other mixed-use residential and commercial development are realistic options for the area.

“If we all work together, we can do it now. We’ve got the asset (land, river) there,” he said.

Westphal (pictured in right of photo) told The City Wire he has “identified high-quality users of such an environment” that are interested in being part of a development riverfront. Helping Westphal is John Castro (pictured in left of photo), a director of the Location Incentives Group for Cushman & Wakefield, which bills itself as a “Global Real Estate Solutions” company.

An arena could cost between $10 million and $50 million. A minor league ballpark could cost between $20 million and $30 million. The job of Castro and his colleagues is to conduct an “opportunity analysis” to determine what projects are feasible, costs and timeframes. The “hard, technical analysis” should be finished within six months, with a clear list of feasible projects, interested tenants, interested baseball team owners and other “Class A” users available within 12 months, Castro said.

The 12 month process identifies the positives, the negatives and then hands that information over “to let the city leadership decide” what it is willing to support.

But can the city of Fort Smith financially support such a large project, and will the population and income demographics of the Fort Smith metro area financially support a large arena and baseball team?

“No problem,” Westphal responded, and then explained that he has “tried to find holes in the economics.”

But will the economics work in this economic downturn?

“All that, the questions of, ‘Will it work?’ and ‘At what cost?’ and all that comes out in this opportunity analysis,” Castro explained. “This is like chemistry. We mix these things together. We are seeing what mixes work. This is not just a study. Some mixes work, some don’t. When we come back to them (city board), we will have the list that works.”

More importantly, Castro concluded, it’s important to have such projects ready to go so that when the economy recovers, the city is prepared to move forward.

“We absolutely are realistic about that (recession), but we can’t be afraid of it. It will end,” he said.

Prior to Westphal’s comments to the board, City Director Kevin Settle offered a “Vision 2014” powerpoint presentation that explained how a minor league baseball stadium and 10,000-seat arena would fit into the riverfront area owned by Westphal and his family.

Westphal said a developed riverfront would give the city a “competitive edge” beyond normal financial incentives when competing for new jobs.

A U.S. Marshals Museum, recently awarded to Fort Smith by the U.S. Marshals Service and projected to cost as much as $40 million, will be built on the riverfront area near the proposed arena and ballfield. Sandi Sanders, project director for the museum, said the effort is progressing well, but will require continued support of the city.