Venues collaborate, look to raise $650,000 to avoid foreclosure

A group of operators, investors and community leaders are working to relocate Meteor Guitar Gallery, a Bentonville events and performing arts venue that closed last year, to a downtown Centerton building that’s in foreclosure. The group is raising $650,000 to halt foreclosure proceedings.

The Ravington, a Centerton wedding and events venue, and Meteor Guitar Gallery are collaborating to create The Meteor @ The Ravington, a venue dedicated to live music, weddings and events.

However, The Ravington building at 293 N. Main St. in Centerton is in foreclosure, and a public auction is set for Feb. 19 at Benton County Courthouse. The group is working to raise $650,000 by Feb. 17 to halt the foreclosure, pay taxes and judgments and preserve the building for the new owners.

According to a news release, the group is welcoming additional investors for the project as part of a community investment model. It will begin a second fundraising round to complete the long-term ownership and operational structure with community participation.

“When The Meteor lost its home in downtown Bentonville, it was a huge blow to our entire community,” said Beth Day, executive broker at The Brandon Group Real Estate and a lead organizer on the project. “Then the foreclosure of The Ravington was another hit to local small business owners already under pressure. Seeing these two stories come together feels deeply meaningful and more than coincidental.”

According to the release, the closure of the Meteor Guitar Gallery in downtown Bentonville “reflects a broader global trend impacting independent music venues.” The venues “often operate on thin margins that make them vulnerable to displacement in rapidly growing real estate markets. When neighborhoods revitalize, art spaces are frequently priced out – an effect commonly known as commercial gentrification.”

The group is considering a community-ownership approach based on successful models that allow people to purchase and protect cultural spaces.

“We see the same pressures here that pushed The Meteor out of downtown Bentonville,” Day said. “This is an opportunity to try something different.”

Les Key is the founder of Meteor Guitar Gallery.

“Leaving the original Meteor building broke my heart,” Key said. “But from the first walkthrough of The Ravington, it felt like home. It has character, history, and a kind of vibe you can’t replicate in new construction. We want to protect what already exists and make thoughtful upgrades so more people can experience it.”

Ramsay Ball, principal at Cignus Real Estate, helped bring the group together and structure the investment effort. “This is what thoughtful development looks like – aligning real estate, culture, and community values so everyone benefits over the long term,” Ball said.

The group has completed an environmental study, survey, inspections and preliminary plans for kitchen upgrades and the addition of a bar. The group has also met with officials of the city of Centerton, including Mayor Bill Edwards and the planning department “who expressed enthusiasm for the vision and emphasized the city’s growing need for arts, culture and gathering spaces,” the release shows.

The group will host multiple open houses this week for people to tour The Ravington building. Open houses will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday (Feb. 2), 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 3), 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 4), 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 5) and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday (Feb. 6).

“If we succeed,” Day said, “we don’t just save a building—we prove that community-owned, values-driven development is possible here. And that’s worth fighting for.”