U.S. Marshals Museum plans big March fundraiser gala

The U.S. Marshals Museum, a planned $53 million museum to be located along the shores of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith, will host its first ever U.S. Marshals Stampede: Kickin' Up the Dust fundraiser next year.

The event, set for March 14, 2015, at Kay Rodgers Park in Fort Smith, will feature a variety of entertainers including the Austin, Texas-based headline act Asleep at the Wheel. Other acts set to perform include Nashville, Tenn.-based musical artists Heath Wright and The Hangmen, as well as singing duo Chris and Lolly. Chris Swicegood of Chris and Lolly is a Fort Smith native, as is the group The Crumbs, who will also perform at the gala.

In addition to the musical acts, the museum said it would also recreate an Old West Town with a separate casino and saloon area, which will feature games including blackjack and Texas Hold'em. There will also be casino prizes, open bars, "Kickin' Up the Dust" cocktails, mechanical bull riding, a live auction with exclusive premium items and more, the museum said.

The event will feature a "culinary chef-inspired Old West menu," a press release noted.

A "Stampede" raffle featuring a Bass Reeves Commemorative Rifle and jewelry from Newton's Jewelers may be purchased at Newton's Jewelers and at the gala. The jewelry will be on display at the store in the days and weeks preceding the gala, while the rifle will be on display at the museum offices in downtown Fort Smith.

Tickets go on sale Feb. 1 and will be $200 each, though twilight tickets with entry to the event after 9 p.m. can be purchased for only $100. The museum said full-priced tickets include a meal, entertainment and dessert whereas the twilight tickets will include just entertainment and dessert.

An exclusive seating area in the "Corral" for individuals and corporate sponsors of the event will be available from $3,000 to $50,000. Reserved seats for 10 in the arena outside of the "Corral" may be purchased for $2,500.

A VIP reception will be hosted beginning at 6 p.m. for sponsorships starting at the $3,000 level, with general admission beginning at 7 p.m.

The amount the museum hopes to raise from the event has not yet been determined, though as of the June 30 quarterly museum board meeting, Marshals Museum President and CEO Jim Dunn reported that the museum had $5.5 million cash on hand, with an additional $3.2 million in pledges. The combined $8.7 million reported as of the June 30 report was a decline from March, when Dunn said the museum had between $9 million and $9.5 million "in cash or pledges receivable."

Of the cash on hand and pledges as of the end of the June 30 reporting period, there is "no specific breakdown" of whether the money is to be used for construction, operations, or both according to museum spokesman Denver Peacock, whose company The Peacock Group has been hired to handle public relations for the museum.

Since the June 30 report was released, Peacock said the museum has upped the number of pledged gifts to $19.5 million, including a $5 million pledge announced last week that is payable by the end of 2015.

Dunn told The City Wire in March that the museum would cost more than $50 million to build and would be broken up into three construction segments based on funding. Dunn had previously said the first phase of construction to be kicked off with a September groundbreaking would be self-funded. The first phase largely focuses on site work allowing for the other two phases of construction to begin at later dates.

"We will self-fund the 2014 phase (of construction)," Dunn said in March. "In 2015, we will aggressively fundraise. Plans are in 2015, when we've reached necessary fundraising thresholds, then we can hopefully apply (for the tax credits). … Ideally, we'd like to have $25 million in cash or pledges next year sometime.”

An expected $10 million in new market tax credits is uncertain, with the museum looking at the possibility of spreading the tax credits out over multiple years. And even though the museum will apply for the credits, which are meant to drive economic development in economically challenged areas, there is no guarantee that the tax credits will be awarded, presenting a possible future funding challenge.

The Marshals Museum is also counting on possibly up to a $5 million windfall from the sale of commemorative U.S. Marshals coins. Dunn has previously said an additional $4 million to $5 million in museum funding could come from sales of the commemorative coin.