Finding Ways to Spend Walton Money
by October 1, 2012 12:00 am 72 views
No doubt like a lot of you, some of us Whispers writers have followed with great interest the soap opera that is the University of Arkansas’ current football season.
That ugly 1-3 record (Here’s hoping it didn’t get worse after press time.) also left us wondering how hard it might be for athletic director Jeff Long and the Razorback Foundation to raise the roughly $50 million needed to complete the projects recently approved by the UA Board of Trustees. If you’ve forgotten, the projects are a basketball practice facility, upgraded practice facilities for the baseball and track teams, and an academic/dining center for all student-athletes.
Well, coincidentally, we recently heard where some of the money will come from. In a move that somehow slipped past us, the UA paid off its debt on Walton Arena in September 2011.
The way we understand it, that frees up about $2 million annually, and that money now will go toward paying for the new projects. We also understand the UA likely will take on another bond issue — like it did with Walton Arena — in about six months.