Walton Arts Center to Discuss Permanent AMP Location in Benton County

The Walton Arts Center Council will meet next week to discuss construction plans for an $11 million, 6,000-seat outdoor music venue just off Interstate 540 in Rogers.

If approved, the venue would essentially replace the Arkansas Music Pavilion in Washington County, which has been a WAC venue since February 2011 and is currently at Washington Co. Fairgrounds.

That location was a backup location to salvage the 2012 season. When the WAC purchased the AMP, officials began planning for a $4 million renovation that would’ve transformed the facility from a glorified tent erected on blacktop to a more traditional venue in a natural setting, complete with lawn-style seating, improved sightlines, landscaping and fencing.

All of that would have been done on land adjacent to the Northwest Arkansas Mall rather than on its parking lot, where events had been held since 2005.

The AMP has presented outdoor concerts for the past nine years.

Peter Lane, president and CEO of the WAC, said in a news release that a permanent outdoor amphitheatre is critical for the continued development of Northwest Arkansas.

“When we lost our lease at the Northwest Arkansas Mall for the AMP in 2011 and moved to the fairgrounds, we showed what could happen in a larger space,” Lane said. “Our attendance grew by 93 percent — from 23,000 patrons to almost 45,000 in one year.  A permanent venue and upgraded production capabilities will allow us to meet the growing audience demand, as well as the tour requirements to be a national competitor on the summer concert circuit.”

Jeff Schomburger, chair of the WAC board and president of the Global Wal-Mart Team for worldwide consumer product titan Procter & Gamble, said the board leadership has been working with the staff on the concept of a permanent amphitheater for the past three years.

“It is part of our regional, multi-campus expansion strategy,” he said. “As a business leader, I am competing with Cincinnati, Chicago and Dallas for top talent. We have to be able to provide the same kind of entertainment and cultural offerings. The AMP is a key part of that strategy, along with our ongoing design work on the expansion of Walton Arts Center, scheduled to break ground later this year, and the subsequent construction of a 2000-seat theater in Bentonville.”

Next week’s meeting is scheduled Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at the WAC’s Dickson Street campus. The board will discuss specifics on the location and the design, but preliminary plans include significant patron and artist amenities such as covered seating for 3000 people, a well-equipped permanent stage house, a location with multiple access points off the interstate. 

If the board approves the proposal on Tuesday, construction is expected to begin this summer, with the goal of opening the venue in June 2014.

Lane said 91 percent of the $11 million construction cost has already been committed.