Springdale Eyes Minor League Baseball Team
by March 29, 2004 12:00 am 79 views
Springdale is close to landing a minor league baseball franchise and new stadium. A “memorandum of understanding” between that community and developers interested in bringing a sports facility to Springdale is being drafted.
The Springdale Chamber of Commerce announced that it has launched an economic development initiative and hired consultant National Community Development Services Inc. of Atlanta to pick the brains of its business leaders.
But the Chamber folks have been quiet about the baseball team and stadium.
The development firms involved are nationally known, and preliminary estimates for a new facility run $50 million-$60 million. Two or three locations around Springdale are being actively scouted for the possible complex.
The city of Springdale is way ahead of its neighbors in these pursuits. Benton County, because of its liquor laws, is out of the loop for a professional sports team. Fayetteville already has the Razorbacks and apparently hasn’t pursued the project as aggressively as Springdale.
The recruitment of an IMAX Corp. theater to Springdale, which could be adjacent to the baseball complex, has also been given priority. The Springdale Chamber’s rough estimate for implementing several new initiatives is $4 million. The city hopes to raise 60 to 70 percent of that amount from local business leaders.