Wally put out an article that the board of trustees maybe deciding the fate of War Memorial stadium and it’s relevance to Razorback football. The contract ends on June 30th. So I was curious as to what everybody else think about War Memorial Stadium and should we keep playing there or let it go.
My personal opinion, I’m fine with playing 1 game a year still at WMS, but if it went away, I don’t think it’d bother me too much. As discussed many times, it needs major upgrades that LR just can’t pay for. I spent my teen years in central Arkansas and have gone to plenty of games at WMS, but other than history, I don’t see a lot a merit staying there. People will say that south Arkansas people can’t come to Fayetteville or we’ll lose LR support. I think that’s baloney. First of all, I’ve gone to games where we played top talent at WMS and still the stadium didn’t fill up(Georgia). So to say we’ll lose South Arkansas isn’t accurate. Plus, I’ve gone to too many games to count in NW Arkansas and talked to tons of people from South and East Arkansas. It has to do with planning and saving. When it comes to money, I don’t know about LR support, but when it comes to fandom, we’re not losing LR. East Arkansas depends more about how well our coaches and directors stay in contact with that part of the state.
General I don’t like going to Little Rock for anything! I don’t attend game in the capitol city and it’s only 45 minutes from the house. I do make the drive to the hill. That should give you an idea of how I personally feel. I’m all hog if they never play another game in Little Rock.
It’s my opinion that to play SEC games in WMS any longer does nothing but hurt the program, I wish that people would simply realize that fact.
WMS played a role in the past and has long out lasted its importance to enhancing the image of the Razorback Football brand.
I would like to see them play no more than 1 game per year at WMS much like the basketball team and baseball team plays 1 game per season in NLR against non-conference opponents.
However, one intriguing game per season could be played at WMS if the Razorbacks would just do what many or most other power 5 programs do on a yearly basis and schedule an in state D-1 program, such as Arkansas State and UCA instead of Nichols State, Louisiana Monroe, The Citidel, Coastal Carolina, Troy, etc…
I know so many think it’s ridiculous, but wouldn’t those games bring much more fanfare to the state capital city than any of the other cupcake games, even though we’ve lost a few of those. For those who think these games serve no value to the Razorbacks, tell me exactly what value comes from those previous stated games with directional schools and such?
When it comes to playing ASU or UCA, I’m more on the “if it happens it happens” way of thinking. I don’t particularly care to play either, especially ASU, but if we have to smack our little brothers around a little bit to shut them up, so be it.
Wally put out an article that the board of trustees maybe deciding the fate of War Memorial stadium and it’s relevance to Razorback football. The contract ends on June 30th. So I was curious as to what everybody else think about War Memorial Stadium and should we keep playing there or let it go.
My personal opinion, I’m fine with playing 1 game a year still at WMS, but if it went away, I don’t think it’d bother me too much. As discussed many times, it needs major upgrades that LR just can’t pay for. I spent my teen years in central Arkansas and have gone to plenty of games at WMS, but other than history, I don’t see a lot a merit staying there. People will say that south Arkansas people can’t come to Fayetteville or we’ll lose LR support. I think that’s baloney. First of all, I’ve gone to games where we played top talent at WMS and still the stadium didn’t fill up(Georgia). So to say we’ll lose South Arkansas isn’t accurate. Plus, I’ve gone to too many games to count in NW Arkansas and talked to tons of people from South and East Arkansas. It has to do with planning and saving. When it comes to money, I don’t know about LR support, but when it comes to fandom, we’re not losing LR. East Arkansas depends more about how well our coaches and directors stay in contact with that part of the state.
Once again, it needs to be noted that WMS does not belong to the city. It’s a state-owned facility. I don’t know about you, but I think the state needs to be spending its limited funds on things that benefit lots of people, like, say, education. Not a stadium that gets full use once or twice a year, if that.
It does seem like the political winds are pushing the team back to WMS. I think it’s shortsighted, but it’s what I expect now.
Makes the program unique in college football. It may surely be one of the ties that bind this state so solidly behind the HOGS. In my opinion we discount that at our peril.
I think they the U of A “Fayetteville” - just to make sure everyone knows which Institution I’m referencing, should only play on campus games. There is no need to keep playing a game at WM. Realistically, what kills attendance at most games is the view from our sofas. I’d much rather watch a game at home than at the any stadium. It doesn’t cost me anything at home compared to the cost of going to a live game. I’d rather pocket those funds for my kids or other things.
I am from El Dorado and hold happy memories from when my Dad, brother and I attended games at War Memorial. We had season tickets and saw some excellent games! But that was in the late sixties and early seventies. Fayetteville’s stadium sat 42,000. I-40 wasn’t completed and we all knew about beautiful but treacherous highway 71! Most significantly, Washington and Benton county’s population was less than 100,000. Today, it is 525,000. Razorback Stadium’s capacity has just been increased to 77,000. Meanwhile, War Memorial Stadium is 50 years older, with the same capacity that it had in 1968. As fond as the memories may be, the program has simply outgrown it. In 1968 War Memorial was a program asset. Today, it’s a program liability. True, there will be holdouts who “cry foul” when the words “quit playing in Little Rock” emerge. Some Auburn fans threatened to quit the program when Auburn announced that it was quitting Birmingham. Guess what happened? Nothing. They moaned and complained. But, when kickoff time came, they were right there at Jordan Hare! For the sake of people living in places like El Dorado, West Memphis, Star City and Texarkana, we need to become creative. What about utilizing our existing rail lines and establish several “Razor-Trains.” That’s right! Passenger trains that would take Hog fans from all corners of the state to Razorback stadium, safely returning them after the games! It would be comparable to an all day tailgate party. It could be done affordably, too! It costs the University $5,000,000 per game to play in Little Rock. Imagine what the U of A could do if this money were used to finance a passenger rail service to games! I would like to hear some discussion on this subject. Meanwhile, Little Rock is a dead issue; or should be! We must put the program first. Playing at War Memorial may appease a few “selfish, front row” fans. But, winning the S.E.C. is of greater importance. It starts with one home playing field. Neutral site games, such as playing Texas A & M at “Jerry’s House,” is not only a “payday” for the program, but allows the Hogs to play an annual game in a critical recruiting hotbed. Giving that up, in favor of playing one game at Little Rock would be more than stupid!
I have never heard anyone before now bringing up the Razor-Train concept. If it could be pulled off cost efficiently then that could be a great solution. It could be a boon for lots of folks and not just fans going to the games in Fayetteville. It might be worth someone’s time to give this more than a casual look. Would it be viable for events other than football?