Has New WAC Venue Found a Home?
by May 11, 2012 3:45 pm 99 views
Remember that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Whisper that ran in our last issue?
The one describing the company’s $3.2 million purchase of 15-plus acres of undeveloped woodlands between Washington Junior High School and Central Avenue in Bentonville?
Remember how we noted its proximity to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art?
Well, a source has since told us the land will be used for the 2,200-seat venue the Walton Arts Center plans to develop in Bentonville in the near future.
For the record, WAC COO Terri Trotter said a final decision has not been made. The relocation of its Arkansas Music Pavilion has been WAC’s main focus the last few months, Trotter added, but she is hopeful the site selection process for the new venue will pick up this summer.
Trotter told Arkansas Business in March 2011 the new facility ideally will be built within a mile of downtown Bentonville. Her list of proposed sites at the time included a spot at 1703 E. Central Ave., a parcel near Southeast C and 22nd streets, and one on the campus of Northwest Arkansas Community College.
The spot on Central Avenue for those keeping score, matches the land recently purchased by Wal-Mart.