Fort Smith board gets heavy pitch on riverfront baseball stadium

Consultants partially paid by the city of Fort Smith aggressively pushed the idea of a $20 million baseball park as the key part of an 85-acre riverfront development plan during a Thursday (Dec. 17) special study session of the Fort Smith Board of Directors.

The board voted 5-1 on Feb. 3 to spend $62,000 as a one-third partner in an “opportunity analysis” study of riverfront development options. The Robbie Westphal family and the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce agreed to each provide $62,000 to fund the study. Receiving the $160,000 fee for the analysis are the firms Cushman & Wakefield, National Sports Services and TRAC.

The push by John Castro and Mike Miller, both with Cushman, included a letter from Miles Wolff, commissioner of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Wolff, in a letter dated Dec. 14 and sent to Fort Smith City Administrator Dennis Kelly, Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce President Paul Harvel and Bennie Westphal, said the association “is very interested in the city as a potential site for expansion.” Wolff visited Fort Smith Dec. 2 and “came away with the strong belief that Fort Smith would be an excellent market for our league.”

Wolff also said Fort Smith is “ideal” as a connection between the northern and southern divisions of the association.

Castro told the board a professional baseball team is the nucleus of the entire 85-acre proposal, with Miller saying the project would be “an extension of downtown” Fort Smith that would tie the history of downtown with “a progressive community” on the riverfront. Castro said during an Oct. 27 presentation to the city board that the 85-acre plan would result in the greatest economic impact by creating up to 350 full-time jobs. If public and private funding is available, the 85-acre project could be built out in three to five years.

The proposed plan includes the ballpark, condos, a “boutique” hotel, retirement community, water features, retirement community and retail and office space.

Miller focused briefly on the office space, saying the “Class A office space” in the area could help the city recruit higher-paying white-collar jobs to the region. Miller said he envisioned the space allowing the city to recruit corporations. As to the retail space, Castro and Miller said they are in the process of contacting more than 300 specialty retailers and national restaurant franchises that often locate in mixed use areas with sports venues to determine their interest in the project.

But the pitch quickly returned to baseball, with Castro telling the board of four ownership groups looking to place expansion teams in the various independent leagues. Also, Castro and Miller reminded the board that Wolff “is very anxious to see how this project will progress.”

When asked if the market could support an independent league team, Castro said initial research suggests it could, with 1 person in 100 from the area (between 250,000-350,000) within a 60-mile radius likely to attend about 50 homes games in a regular season. Average ticket and concession prices would be no more than $15 a person.

Continuing the pitch, Castro and Miller said a stadium could also be used by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and area high school baseball teams. Castro said UAFS Chancellor Paul Beran has expressed an interest in the stadium.

The stadium also could be used for concerts, soccer matches, car shows and festivals, according to Castro and Miller.

As to the overall 85-acre site, Castro and Miller repeatedly said there is no other riverfront site like it in the central U.S.

Castro said the complete analysis will be delivered around the first of March, but an “outward educational campaign” in Fort Smith is expected to begin after the holidays.

City Administrator Kelly said the big question when the project was first mentioned was could the Fort Smith metro area support it.

“That answer is moving to ‘Yes,’” Kelly told the board.