By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said he’s not afraid to “dream big.”
After unveiling the athletic department’s expansive facilities master plan on Tuesday afternoon, it’s clear Long hopes Arkansas fans, supporters and donors feel the same way.
“That’s what we’re doing here,” Long said. “We want to be the best we can be, and we want to plan to be the best we can be.”
Arkansas, nearly two years after receiving approval from the school’s Board of Trustees to put together a master plan, detailed its “long-term vision” for the program during an afternoon press conference.
The plan is aimed to improve facilities for all 19 sports at an estimated cost of “more than $320 million” over a 30-year period. The biggest highlights include: football stadium expansion in the north end zone, the construction of a basketball practice facility, and expansion for the baseball stadium.
Long made it clear there is no timeline for any project outside of the football operations center, which has an official groundbreaking ceremony set for Nov. 4. But he believes it was important for the program to put together a complete “wish list” to display Arkansas’ goals.
“This gives us the road map,” Long said of the plans. “We know the roads are going to change. But I tell you what, this keeps us from waking up one day and saying we’ve got to do this facility and putting it in place, throwing it together, and then a few years later waking up and saying, ‘I wish we had done this in that location because it allowed us to do that.’”
Long did say two items at the top of the list are the basketball practice facility and an academic and dining center. He said Arkansas is in need of the basketball facility for numerous reasons, which includes recruiting.
“We are the only SEC school that does not have a basketball practice facility,” Long said. “That includes Texas A&M. We are in need of this facility and we hope that we can move forward with it in the not-too-distant future.”
The projected location of the facility will be across the street from Bud Walton Arena. An artist’s rendering of the proposed building includes two practice floors, two locker rooms, offices, film rooms and a weight room.
It would be a welcome sight for new Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson. He did not attend the press conference, but was quoted in an Arkansas press release on the master plan.
“Not only do we have one of the top arenas in the country, but with all the amenities of a practice facility, our student-athletes would have access to one of the best training facilities,” Anderson said in the press release.
“This complex would also give us the flexibility to schedule our training times around our student-athletes’ class schedules and not have to worry about arena conflicts.”
Early stages of construction have already begun on the football operations center, but it is not the only plan in the works for the program.
Long said Arkansas also intends to expand the north end zone in Razorback Stadium, adding more club seating and suites that would increase capacity by roughly 5,000. The project would include interior and exterior walkways that would connect the east and west stands. And an idea Long said he “borrowed” from Jerry Jones.
Players will leave the locker room in the Broyles Center, walk through field-level club seats and suites, then run through the ‘A’ before games. It’s similar to Cowboys Stadium.
“Does this mean we’re no longer going to play games in Little Rock?” Long said. “No, this doesn’t mean that. That decision will be made sometime in the future. This is really a plan looking at our stadium in Fayetteville.”
Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino was a proponent of the football operations center construction.
He said in Arkansas’ press release both the center and stadium expansion will “add to the experience of our fans and student-athletes.”
“This plan outlines improvements that will help us maintain our championship standards moving forward,” Petrino said in the press release.
Some of Arkansas other wish-list items include:
• Expansion of Baum Stadium, which would primarily include new suites and club seats. Plans also include a centerfield concourse.
• Construction of an indoor facility for Arkansas baseball/track. It would provide indoor batting cages and fielding areas for the baseball team, which has had to find indoor area elsewhere in foul weather. And an indoor throwing area for track and field events.
• A “Razorback Walk” that would begin at Lot 56 on the south side of campus and end at the football stadium. The walk, which will be on the interior of campus, will help alleviate foot traffic up Razorback Road on football gamedays.
Arkansas also will consider tearing down Barnhill Arena and replace it with a 5,000-seat competition facility used primarily for volleyball games and gymnastics meets. Long said no decision has been made, but added it will prove difficult because of the arena’s history.
He estimated renovations to the arena would cost $20 to $25 million, though. Arkansas believes it would cost $18 to $23 million to build a new facility for the two sports.
“It will be a tough call,” Long said. “It’s one we will have to make and we’ll be faced with making it in some period, five to 10 years.”
Long admitted the entire package was a “very ambitious plan,” but one he said is necessary for Arkansas athletics to remain in the forefront when it comes to facilities.
Arkansas plans to fund projects through the Razorback Foundation, ticket revenues, multi-media sponsorship deals, SEC television revenue distribution and bonds. He said “the generosity of supporters through major gifts” also will be vital for the program’s long-term vision.
“Hopefully the Razorback fans and supporters believe in what we’re doing here in our program and they’ll step up and support us,” Long said.
Arkansas’ Master Plan
Arkansas unveiled its facilities master plan on Tuesday, projects the program estimates to cost between $268.8 to $327.95 million over the next 30 years. Here’s a breakdown of each project:
Football Center – $35 million
Basketball Practice Facility – $20-$25 million
Academic and Dining – $18-$23 million
Baseball/Track Facility – $11.5-$14 million
Razorback Stadium End Zone – $78-$95 million
Additional Modifications – $21.5-$28 million
Baum Stadium Expansion – $15.5-$19 million
Walton Arena Improvements – $41-$51.5 million
5,000 Seat Competition Venue – $18-$23 million
McDonnell Field Expansion – $4.25-$5.1 million
Bogle Park Expansion – $750,000-$1.5 million
Tennis Expansion – $500,000-$1.25 million
Outdoor Swimming Expansion – $3-$3.5 million
Indoor Swimming Expansion – $300,000-$600,000
Smith Golf Center – $1.5-$2.5 million
