Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 11/9/21

The main topic at the Board of Directors study session meeting was the feasibility study started this week about a potential new indoor sports facility. In the absence of Mayor McGill, the meeting was lead by Vice Mayor Rego. Director Catsavis attended the first hour of the 87 minute meeting.

Bill Krueger, the consultant from CSL who is conducting the feasibility study presented to the board. The study is expected to take 12-14 weeks to complete. The first 2/3 of the study will be primarily about understanding marketing demands and conditions in our area. This will be followed by telephone interviews with hotels and potential customers and other stake holders. They will also study hotel amenities, demographics, economics, traffic, and competitive facilities in the region. The study will help identify not only if a facility would be recommended for our area, but also identify the right size of facility, mix of spaces, a look at how other comparable facilities in other parts of the country operate, and how we could possibly leverage private partnerships.

The typical type of facility that is likely to be the kind that would be the best fit here may likely include indoor turf and hardwood courts. Krueger mentioned indoor facilities currently have the most productive economic impact and offer the most versatility in one place. An indoor facility could offer space for pickleball, dance, wrestling, basketball, volleyball, track training, soccer, baseball training, and possibly even E-sports as well as locker rooms and cafes. While the convention center we currently have can host volleyball and dance tournaments, it is not optimized for them. While it could also allow for local community play, the main focus of the facility would be sports tournament tourism.

Krueger said that the likely best fit for most cities is a city owned and privately managed option (like we currently have with our convention center and Parrot Island). The main advantage he mentioned to that model is that the city has the power to offer more guidance like potential for requiring that the facility also serve underserved populations in addition to the most profitable activities. He said that typically after the first year, most of the indoor sports facilities like the one he’s envisioning for Fort Smith are profitable (unlike convention centers, ice rinks, and aquatic facilities that typically run a deficit).

Director Martin asked if any prime locations had been spotted for the facility yet. Krueger answered that they weren’t quite that far along yet, but he has already noted that Fort Smith has a “vastly larger opportunity for different locations” than a lot of places. An optimal site will have room for plenty of parking and room for expansion (both of the facility itself, and for privately owned hospitality business development nearby). The North part of the city and Chaffee were two neighborhoods he mentioned. The kind of site most likely to be right for Fort Smith would require about 15 acres including parking.

Director Dawson expressed her feeling that the facility is “more about the economic impact”. She mentioned that there is some public concern about spending and that the facility may appear frivolous in light of things like the consent degree. But she argued that viewing the facility in terms of what it would do for increased revenue for small businesses “ changes the trajectory on how you see spending money on a sports complex”. She expressed being especially excited about offering wresting at the complex and noted that Arkansas is one of the top states in the nation in Track and Field with the UofA leading the country in championship wins. She is excited about potential for offering track tournaments and training camps.

Director Morton inquired about the seating capacity. Kruger clarified that it is not an arena, that the focus is on participants rather than spectators. Director Catsavis questioned how long the feasibility study would be good for and Kruger answered about 5 years. Catsavis asked for the top funding sources used for these facilities in other places. Kruger responded hotel tax, sales tax, and general fund. He said that the typical facility often costs around $40 million.

Director Settle asked about the potential for an ice rink for frozen sports. Kruger seemed to indicate that it didn’t seem like it would necessarily be the best choice here and that it would need a separate surface from the hardwood and turf facility, need to maintain separate temperature controls, and need a strong participation base. Director Good expressed posititivity that the facility would be year round. He also pointed out that some people from here have gone on to be successful in college athletics and even professional sports. He could see the new facility increasing that. He also mentioned his firsthand experience of his own family spending thousands of dollars on travel ball tournaments. He called the facility an investment “we have to make at some point, maybe not now, but soon.”

Director Geffken suggested that the increased spending for the new salary plan and the 5% reserve that are in the new needs section of the budget be voted on for approval along with the rest of the base budget and the other capital new needs and personnel items on the new needs section be put off and considered after the 1st quarter, like April 1st. Director Morton expressed his opinion that we need to have flexibility in the accessibility for departments of the funds from the reserve. Geffken assured him that there would be “no large hoops to go through”. Multiple directors expressed support for the salary plan.

The Board discussed dates for the 2022 meetings and study sessions. Director Dawson asked about moving the study sessions back to Noon instead of the evenings. Multiple other directors expressed that they prefer the evenings, especially with the need for the sessions to sometimes run longer than an hour and that that poses a challenge around their work schedules at lunch. Director Martin expressed a desire for brevity at the study sessions. Morton agreed that brevity is good but they need to take their time. Dates were added to a future meeting for approval.