Governor: Put War Memorial Stadium under agency's direction

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (from left) explains his plan for War Memorial Stadium at a news conference Tuesday with Kane Webb, state Department of Parks and Tourism director, and Jerry Cohen, War Memorial Stadium Commission executive director.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (from left) explains his plan for War Memorial Stadium at a news conference Tuesday with Kane Webb, state Department of Parks and Tourism director, and Jerry Cohen, War Memorial Stadium Commission executive director.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson wants the Legislature next year to move the War Memorial Stadium Commission under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Parks and Tourism in what he considers to be "a natural fit," Hutchinson said Tuesday.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Brenda Scisson, who has served 19 years on the War Memorial Stadium Commission, said Tuesday that a proposal to shift the stadium to the jurisdiction of the state Department of Parks and Tourism “is wonderful news for a stadium that is in need. We need help, and today’s announcement is defining some help.”

The governor also pledged to use his discretionary funds to pay for a study by a nationally recognized stadium consultant to make recommendations on needs and opportunities for the structure, which opened in 1948 in Little Rock.

Hutchinson made the announcements about a week after he proposed cutting general revenue funding for the stadium from $895,171 in fiscal 2018 to $447,647 in fiscal 2019. In a committee meeting Thursday, lawmakers spent more than an hour on an emotional debate about the proposed cut but made no decisions.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Legislative Council and Joint Budget Committee approved a motion by Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, to accept Hutchinson's recommendation to provide $895,171 in general revenue to the stadium in fiscal 2018, starting July 1. The Legislature will consider that funding in the regular session starting Jan. 9.

The stadium is allocated $889,085 in state general revenue in this fiscal year, which ends June 30. The Department of Parks and Tourism has a budget of about $150 million with about 760 full-time employees, while the War Memorial Stadium Commission has a budget of about $2.8 million and six employees, according to state officials.

Davis said lawmakers deferred action on drafting a bill for Hutchinson's proposed funding cut for the stadium in fiscal 2019, which starts July 1, 2018, until the 2018 fiscal session. That would allow lawmakers time to authorize the stadium commission to be melded into the Department of Parks and Tourism and for the stadium study to be completed so lawmakers "know what the results are before we do anything" with the fiscal 2019 budget, he said.

At a news conference at the state Capitol, Hutchinson, a Republican from Rogers, said he has enjoyed the stadium for more than three decades and that his "commitment to War Memorial Stadium has never wavered."

Hutchinson said moving the stadium commission into the Department of Parks and Tourism would give the stadium "more marketing and administrative support that is much needed for the work of the stadium," as well as more access to grant funding through the department.

"It is a natural fit with Parks and Tourism being devoted to marketing tourism dollars, growing premier event centers all across this state, and attracting visitors to Arkansas as well as events," he said. "This is an example of an efficiency that expands the vision, the mission and the strength of War Memorial Stadium."

He said his proposed cut in the stadium's general revenue funding in fiscal 2019 isn't tied to his plans for an income tax cut of yet-to-be-determined size for the 2017 Legislature to consider.

"It's just simply a matter of managing state government and managing state agencies," Hutchinson said. He said he has been reviewing the commission for a year and a half and that it historically operated without general revenue until about 2006.

"I wanted to fully fund them the first year of the biennium and then I wanted to start on a path of self-sufficiency," he said. It's reasonable to reduce funding in fiscal 2019 with the commission's bond payments over, the governor said. The commission makes its final bond payment of about $525,000 in February.

Last week, commission Chairman Kevin Crass warned lawmakers that with the proposed cuts, the stadium would have budget deficits of about $300,000 in each of fiscal 2019, '20 and '21. He noted that the stadium won't be paid the $475,000 by the University of Arkansas in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019 that it received in the past three seasons, even though the Razorbacks football team is committed to play in Little Rock in the fall of 2017 and the fall of 2018. Other events at the stadium include high school and other college football games.

At his news conference, Hutchinson likened this transfer proposal to legislation enacted earlier this year to transfer the Arkansas History Commission into the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

"I think it is very important in this type of operation that you have a group of commissioners that is solely devoted to War Memorial Stadium, its marketing, its future, its presence, its being an ambassador for the stadium and the events that are there," he said.

He said he's talked with a number of lawmakers about his idea of putting the commission under the Department of Parks and Tourism.

"I think there is good support for this, and I hope that support will grow," Hutchinson said.

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, who has called for cutting state funding for the stadium, said he considers Hutchinson's proposal "a win."

"There is going to be some inherent cost savings by merging [the stadium commission] into Parks and Tourism," he said.

Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, said Hutchinson's proposal is a good and a natural fit.

"It remains to be seen what the budget numbers are going to be or what the study will show, so I want to keep a close eye on that, but the general feeling of a commitment to War Memorial is encouraging," he said.

Hutchinson said he would use his discretionary funds to finance a study about the stadium "to give us really an understanding of all the opportunities that are presented to us and also to what the needs are for the stadium."

Hutchinson said the state would issue a request for qualifications for a nationally recognized stadium consultant to conduct the study and that "we'll move expeditiously on that."

Kane Webb, director of the Department of Parks and Tourism, said he welcomed the governor's proposal to fund a feasibility study because "it always helped to have an objective outside look at something and especially when it comes to this something, which is such an emotional and cultural touchstone for so many of us in Arkansas."

"I know this is about the future, but not the past, and I know that numbers have been driving this story and I understand that," he said.

"But on a personal note, I love War Memorial Stadium," he said "This stadium means a lot to a lot of people. It's Arkansas War Memorial Stadium."

Jerry Cohen, the commission's executive director, said there are one or more events at the stadium more than 250 days a year.

"We look at this opportunity as a chance for growth," he said. "There is a possibility for additional revenue ... with grants and funding through parks, and it gives an opportunity to maybe expand in areas that we aren't able to expand in just being a stand-alone state agency."

The stadium has been remodeled over the past 15 years, "so we are basically a new structure other than the concrete and the bleachers," Cohen said.

Commissioner Brenda Scisson said she's served 19 years on the commission and that "this is wonderful news for a stadium that is in need. We need help and today's announcement is defining some help."

After the governor's news conference, Crass, who has served on the commission for 10 years, said the commission doesn't have any choice but to support Hutchinson's proposal, and that he supports it.

"I think the idea is a good one, but it has a lot of unanswered questions that will have to be fleshed out. You start with very basic one: Does that result in additional funding to operate the stadium? I don't know," he said.

"But the spirit of the idea is much appreciated, and that is what the governor wants to see, the stadium survive and thrive, and that's my primary goal," Crass said.

As to whether he wants to continue serving on the commission, Crass said: "From my perspective as chairman, I need to understand what the role of the commission will be and what will be the role of the chairman before I decide they need me or not. But that just hasn't been discussed."

As for the future of the University of Arkansas football games in Little Rock beyond 2018, Hutchinson said he would like the Razorbacks to continue to play in War Memorial Stadium.

"But that's the decision that the University of Arkansas independently makes, and whether they make the decision to continue playing here or not, I want War Memorial Stadium to be the best venue that we can have for central Arkansas, but also the state of Arkansas," the governor said.

A Section on 10/26/2016

Upcoming Events