Arkansas weighs history and money in decision to stay or leave games in Little Rock

Redwood Forrest

Hall of Fame
Sep 19, 2003
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After 70 years as a part-time home for Arkansas football games, there’s only one more game scheduled at War Memorial Stadium. The current contract expires after the 2018 season, and as recently as last fall, when Arkansas officials presented a 39-page Powerpoint document comparing and contrasting the stadiums, a feeling of inevitability had settled in. Many expected the Ole Miss game Oct. 13 to be the Hogs’ last in the state capital.

But momentum may have changed. There’s no handshake just yet, but it appears actual games are likely to remain in Little Rock, too.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ision-stay-leave-games-little-rock/516039002/

I learned a lot from this:

For SEC games, a league rule requires the opponent to sign off on playing away from campus. And later this spring, a working group of SEC athletic directors is expected to unveil minimum standards for football venues, including for visitors’ and officials’ locker rooms (part of the $17 million in proposed improvements to War Memorial Stadium).

Every other year, as the designated home team in the series, Arkansas essentially loses a home date. If the Razorbacks are also playing in Little Rock, they’ll lose two dates on campus. And in Arlington and Little Rock, NCAA rules don’t allow Arkansas to conduct the same recruiting activities as at games on campus.
 

selmaborntidefan

TideFans Legend
Mar 31, 2000
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This article can blow smoke all it wants to.

It basically answers its own question - “If this was a dollars-and-cents decision, it’s easy,” says Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, and he’s correct. That presentation from last fall shows Arkansas loses $3.7 million per game by playing in Little Rock instead of Fayetteville – and beginning this fall, after that construction is completed, the number is expected to jump to $4.7 million."

Nobody, even the dumbest Arky, is going to take a $4.7 million loss just for the sake of "history."

It doesn't work that way.

Oklahoma and Nebraska used to be a great rivalry, now they never play.

Alabama and Ga Tech used to be a great rivalry, and they haven't met since 1984.

Pat Dye tried to pretend the whole moving the Iron Bowl scrap was about "we're gonna show those big brutes in Tuscaloosa they can't push us around," and it was REALLY all about "think about how much MONEY we can pocket if we not only force those smoke blowers to come to Auburn BUT ALSO FORCE them to buy an entire season's worth of tickets just to get the one game!"

If it's as simple as money then this decision has been made. And it has unless Little Rock can come up with a way to make more money for everyone.
 

Elefantman

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2007
5,934
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R Can Saw
Is War Memorial a decent stadium
It's a step below Legion Field.

Back in the day when it was next to impossible to reach Fayetteville from civilization, playing in Little Rock was the only way many could see the Hogs play. Now they have a nice stadium and good highways to Fayetteville so there is no need to play in Little Rock.
 
Last edited:

Crimson1967

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Nov 22, 2011
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On a side note, the University of Arkansas-Little Rock is considering starting a football program. I suppose the idea is they can fill the void left when the Piggies move out completely.

To play in FBS you must sponsor 16 sports. UALR recently announced they are starting a wrestling program, which would be their 15th sport.

I think them playing at War Memorial will be like UAB at Legion Field. A huge stadium with very few people at the game.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

4Q Basket Case

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Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
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For the last few years, Legion Field was a dump.

But in the late 70s heyday, it could be electric. Only one game on TV, we were it, Goodyear blimp overhead, tailgating in Mrs. Bagwell's back yard. Touchdown Café burgers, it was something.

But those days ended, and we were a bit late moving all games to Tuscaloosa.

I remember the last game there -- opening against USF on a brutally hot day. City of Birmingham did its usual bang-up job, and it took over an hour to get a coke. Utterly miserable experience all around. When it mercifully ended, Mrs. Basket Case and I simultaneously said a bunch of banned words.
 

JDCrimson

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Feb 12, 2006
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The hole will probably be bigger than $4.7m once the donors and athletic depts see the impact of no longer being able to tax deduct contributions to university athletic programs. Looks like they are about 20yrs behind us figuring this out.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 

bama61

1st Team
Aug 24, 2004
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I never went to a game in Birmingham and I wish I would have. That’s all I’m going to say about that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro[emoji208]
Depends on the era. When I was in school Alabama and Auburn played most of their major games in Legion Field, so Birmingham usually hosted about five games games, two for each school plus the Iron Bowl. If memory serves, Legion Field seated a bit shy of 50,000 and Bryant Denny (then just Denny) seated a bit over 30,000. Legion Field was reasonably well kept up in those days and certainly was better lit for night games while Denny stadium looked a bit old, tired, and poorly lit. No comparison at all where restaurants and such were concerned and there weren't a lot of hotel/motel rooms available in Tuscaloosa. Conference opponents we usually played in Birmingham include LSU, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. We also played a game every year in Mobile, usually Tulane or LSU. Until Coach Bryant came in we usually played two games a year in Denny, and after he had a chance to impact the scheduling the on-campus games increased to three per season. Sometime around 1970 Coach Bryant ended the practice of playing a game each year in Mobile and increased the Birmingham games to four per season including the Iron Bowl. For years the only SEC opponent we consistently played on-campus was our game every other year with Miss State.
 

Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
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Gadsden, Al.
After 70 years as a part-time home for Arkansas football games, there’s only one more game scheduled at War Memorial Stadium. The current contract expires after the 2018 season, and as recently as last fall, when Arkansas officials presented a 39-page Powerpoint document comparing and contrasting the stadiums, a feeling of inevitability had settled in. Many expected the Ole Miss game Oct. 13 to be the Hogs’ last in the state capital.

But momentum may have changed. There’s no handshake just yet, but it appears actual games are likely to remain in Little Rock, too.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ision-stay-leave-games-little-rock/516039002/

I learned a lot from this:

For SEC games, a league rule requires the opponent to sign off on playing away from campus. And later this spring, a working group of SEC athletic directors is expected to unveil minimum standards for football venues, including for visitors’ and officials’ locker rooms (part of the $17 million in proposed improvements to War Memorial Stadium).

Every other year, as the designated home team in the series, Arkansas essentially loses a home date. If the Razorbacks are also playing in Little Rock, they’ll lose two dates on campus. And in Arlington and Little Rock, NCAA rules don’t allow Arkansas to conduct the same recruiting activities as at games on campus.
Arkansas is in the same situation that Alabama found itself in. Alabama and Auburn both lost money by not having Home and Home games. Pat Dye made it easy for us when he moved the Auburn games to their campus. We owe Pat Dye a debt of gratitude for his decision. Legion Field became a war zone when the sun went down. Years ago... We were blocked in inside an alley after a game, and rival gangs shot it out while we were inside our car. I put Barbara Ann in the floorboard, layed on top of her on my back with a .45 auto pointing up towards the windows. The gangs were interested in shooting each other, and not the fans. I never went to another game in B-ham.
 

TitleWave

All-American
Dec 3, 2012
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Methinks the Sooies squeal the deal one way or another by renaming the old pile Bryant-Broyles Sty, er, Stadium.
 

Redwood Forrest

Hall of Fame
Sep 19, 2003
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Arkansas is in the same situation that Alabama found itself in. Alabama and Auburn both lost money by not having Home and Home games. Pat Dye made it easy for us when he moved the Auburn games to their campus. We owe Pat Dye a debt of gratitude for his decision. Legion Field became a war zone when the sun went down. Years ago... We were blocked in inside an alley after a game, and rival gangs shot it out while we were inside our car. I put Barbara Ann in the floorboard, layed on top of her on my back with a .45 auto pointing up towards the windows. The gangs were interested in shooting each other, and not the fans. I never went to another game in B-ham.
Three weeks ago I went to the Hospital there (Prinston) where my friend was having heart procedures done. The staff there told us not to go to the parking lot after dark unless we got a security guard to go with us. I don't think the area has improved any. Even with the guard I was wondering about all the men lurking about. Oh, and even in the daytime there were bums wanting a handout in the lot and across the street at McDonald's.
 

Tidewater

Hall of Fame
Mar 15, 2003
22,401
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Hooterville, Vir.
I never went to a game in Birmingham and I wish I would have. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
My first game in Legion Field was Bama-Ga Tech 1981.
Bama lost 21-24 and those Yellowjacketed knuckleheads did not win another game all year.
What I remember most was the gentleman standing in his front lawn patting his palm with his baseball bat and telling the driver, "Boy, if you park your car in front of my house and don't pay me $5 to watch after your car, somebody might just bust your windows out."
 

TrampLineman

Hall of Fame
Jul 21, 2010
7,287
6
57
Alabama
i saw some absolutely great games there.
I never said the games sucked. Everything around Legion Field sucked. Was the best decision we ever made to leave that dump. I've only been going to games since 1992 and Legion Field was a dump then.

What I remember most was the gentleman standing in his front lawn patting his palm with his baseball bat and telling the driver, "Boy, if you park your car in front of my house and don't pay me $5 to watch after your car, somebody might just bust your windows out."
Exactly the type of atmosphere I'm talking about. You shouldn't fear for your life (or possessions) just to go see a Bama game.
 

Redwood Forrest

Hall of Fame
Sep 19, 2003
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Boaz, AL USA
This article can blow smoke all it wants to.

It basically answers its own question - “If this was a dollars-and-cents decision, it’s easy,” says Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, and he’s correct. That presentation from last fall shows Arkansas loses $3.7 million per game by playing in Little Rock instead of Fayetteville – and beginning this fall, after that construction is completed, the number is expected to jump to $4.7 million."

Nobody, even the dumbest Arky, is going to take a $4.7 million loss just for the sake of "history."

It doesn't work that way.

Oklahoma and Nebraska used to be a great rivalry, now they never play.

Alabama and Ga Tech used to be a great rivalry, and they haven't met since 1984.

Pat Dye tried to pretend the whole moving the Iron Bowl scrap was about "we're gonna show those big brutes in Tuscaloosa they can't push us around," and it was REALLY all about "think about how much MONEY we can pocket if we not only force those smoke blowers to come to Auburn BUT ALSO FORCE them to buy an entire season's worth of tickets just to get the one game!"

If it's as simple as money then this decision has been made. And it has unless Little Rock can come up with a way to make more money for everyone.
This pretty much written in stone. Tradition is good but not the end all. I am not sure how much profit Little Rock makes of a game there but I doubt they can come up with the $$$.
 

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