Naming Rights for New Rogers AMP a Mystery

The Arkansas Music Pavilion is finally moving to a permanent location in Rogers. Folks in Fayetteville, home to the AMP since 2005, expressed regret about the move, which is planned to be final by the 2014 summer season.

For Whispers, it all came down to one of the great truisms of business and politics: “Get there the firstest with the mostest.”

And that’s what Rogers did.

Peter Lane, president and CEO of the Walton Arts Center, said nearly all of the $11 million needed to build the new venue was already in place.

That figure includes a $3 million, interest-free loan and a land donation from J.B. Hunt’s widow, Johnelle Hunt, a $1.5 million gift from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, a $2.5 million gift from an anonymous donor and a $500,000 pledge from the city of Rogers.

Not too shabby.

But what Whispers finds interesting is that Lane referenced naming rights and the sale of box seats as sources of revenue for the new venue.

Let’s do the math. Hunt donates the land, which sits within a stone’s throw of her Pinnacle Hills headquarters, and issues an interest-free loan while Rogers forks over 500,000 big ones. Not to mention Walker and the “anonymous donor.”

Hmm. Whispers has no clue as to what the new name of the venue will be. But something tells us that the word Hunt or Pinnacle or Rogers or Walker — or the true name of the anonymous donor — just might somehow creep into the name.

We’ll also venture another guess. Those pretty box seats Lane talked about? Don’t expect to see Fayetteville mayor Lioneld Jordan or Steve Clark, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, sitting in them next summer when the big concerts roll through — all together now — Rogers.