Granted, the kids are outta school, but Fayetteville was quiet Thursday. All roads were easily navigated in comparison to decent football years. Not difficult to get reservations to Cheers—wow, what good food,
Friday, streets thru campus had little traffic. Went past Ricks Bakery and, noticing ample parking, turned around and went in. It always had a line of folks trying to get in in the past. I’d never been in Ricks. What a jewel! Loved it!
Went to four Hog gear stores and few shoppers were around. For dinner went to Does for some tamales and chili (someone tell Nick they’re still superb!). Absolutely no crowd in Does, and few folks were walking Dickson. For a big game weekend this is strange.
Saturday morning no crowd at game, park on streets at no charge, lots of food at tailgates which were poorly attended. Easy traffic after the game.
Went to Catfish Hole at 5:30–prime time. Several parking spaces. Walked right in and chose from many empty tables.
If you have attended games in Fayetteville (and I’ve been coming since the mid60’s), you know how odd it is that this town is not filled with fans.
My overall point is that Fayetteville lost millions this weekend. Will Fayetteville and NWA have a say in Morris’ tenure?
Those places to eat and things to do didn’t suddenly pop up to coincide with Morris being hired. Lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic, significant table waits, and crowded shops with Nutt, Petrino, and Bielema.
I went to Dickson after the game. It was an hour wait at grubs for a table and the line was out the door at JJs. I left and found a patio off Dickson and was the only group on the patio. Crazy. It was also opening weekend of muzzleloader season so I’m sure a lot of folks decided to tailgate from deer camp. I would have but family came in for the game.
Just irresponsible nonsense. It’s an absolute fact that Fayetteville small business is being affected by the pitiful Hog product being offered. The “insiders” on this board are far from that. They are at least a day late and a dollar short. All the good old posters are gone because if you are the least bit critical, you"ll be soundly shouted down.
Financially speaking, NWA is taking a hit because to football program is down. On game day weekends, fans from other parts of the State are not commuting up here to watch the States flag ship program gets its head handed to them by other SEC opponents and losing to lower tier programs. Hotels, restaurants, bars, vendors, and a whole host of other businesses profits have suffered. When businesses lose money, people lose jobs. The local sports media may not be feeling the hit, but thousands of NWA residents are. A successful football program is very important to the financial stability of the area. The University needs to understand this.
I went down Dickson on Saturday night and the streets were full and no parking to be seen. Looked about like usual. I didn’t stop. I was just heading across town and wanted to see it with my own eyes.
As far as restaurants, two owners told me this morning by text that they did their same business as usual. They don’t ever hurt on game weekends. Now that’s probably the best places in town. You aren’t going to get in more than capactiy for four hours anyway.
They complain the most about 11 a.m. kickoffs. That’s the ones that get them, but they didn’t see a drop in business on this weekend.
The 11 a.m. kickoff can and does hurt Saturday night dinner business because people can head home after the game finishes at 2:15 p.m.
But they said it didn’t make any difference at their place in this weekend.
Maybe measuring business at the top restaurants isn’t a good way to measure. Maybe they are going to be full anyway.
I went to Herman’s with my family Friday night before the game and we waited 45 minutes for a table. We got there at 6:15. Place was packed. Seemed like a normal game weekend there for me.
The objective measure is real attendance. A secondary factor would be 11:00 am kickoffs which would allow folks to get out of town after the game, not having to stay in town aftwerwards. Has attendance been significantly changed over the last 7 years?
Stopped by Inn at the Mill as we left town. Lady behind desk says they had several vacancies for the weekend. Even dropped two nite minimum to try to attract folks. I’ve been associated with the Inn for over fifteen years and it is not normal for them to not be booked solid on game weekends.
NWA is certainly impacted by Razorback football success.
And Clay, at 5:30 on Friday nite you could park anywhere along the curb on Dickson Street. That’s unheard of for the nite before a game.
There were just under 22,000 tickets unsold Saturday to the biggest game on the home schedule. I don’t see how the area doesn’t take an economic hit when that is the case.
I enjoyed the students being on fall break last week. It was much easier to get around work. One of the reasons I like when there aren’t as many here during the summer.
If you are talking about Morris and the product putting on the field being a reason that not as many people are coming, I said that is absolutely true.
I think Fayetteville is impacted, but believe it has less to do with fans not attending and more so with the increasing options if you drive 15 minutes north.
I’d be willing to bet that Benton County has built 4 new hotel rooms for every one in Washington County. Most are cheaper options and don’t require a two-night stay.
And while I love some of the old faithfuls in Fayetteville for dining (Hugo’s, Pesto Cafe, Herman’s, etc.), the culinary explosion in Benton County has certainly pulled diners away. We had to wait for a table at both restaurants Friday and Saturday night in Rogers.
With the metro area approaching 600,000 people, a loss of 20,000 on a game weekend (some of which may have been from here anyways) isn’t as big of a hit as 25 years ago.
With all due respect, that’s talking points from the Hill. I work in the hospitality industry. Hotels are only half full during football weekends. That adds up to a few thousand people coming up here from other parts of the State not coming in and spending money. I’ve lost thousands of dollars over the past several years due to lost hours. Visiting one street that’s busy doesn’t apply to the entire area. No Clay. Not everything is fine. The football program isn’t just going through a minor bump in the road. The officials who have made one bad choice after another don’t have everything well in hand. HY needs to make some hard choices about the football program. These choices will not only effect the University, but the State as well.