In 1951, business leaders in central Arkansas learned that the U.S. Air Force was considering building a new base somewhere in the middle of the country.
"Congress was not interested in purchasing land for the base because the United States already owned some World War II airfields that could be converted to active bases," Carolyn Yancey Kent writes for the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. "Everett Tucker, manager of the industrial department of the chamber [of commerce], Pulaski County Judge Archibald Campbell, Harry Pfeifer and Ike Teague were among the leaders of the campaign to obtain an Air Force base for Pulaski County. An agreement reached with the Air Force held that funds would be raised by local groups to purchase the land for the base, and a site near Jacksonville that included a portion of the World War II-era Arkansas Ordnance Plant was selected for the new medium jet bomber base. The Strategic Air Command approved the master plan for the air base in January 1953 with a projected cost of $50 million."
Little Rock businessmen such as Raymond Rebsamen led a campaign designed to raise almost $800,000 in private funds. It was the era of strict segregation in Arkansas, but there was even a campaign to raise $10,000 in the black community that was led by the president of Philander Smith College.
"After World War II, most of the land occupied by the [Arkansas Ordnance Plant] had been resold to former owners or sold to businesses," Kent writes. "Only a small part of the former [ordnance plant] site belonged to the United States government in 1953. When this land was resold to former owners or sold to businesses, the United States had a 'recapture' provision in the contracts, allowing the government to reclaim the land as needed. The Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District office, oversaw the construction of the base. On Dec. 8, 1953, official groundbreaking ceremonies were held. By the time [Little Rock Air Force Base] was officially activated on Oct. 9, 1955, 100 officers and 1,134 airmen were located at the base. An open house was held for the public, and approximately 85,000 people attended."
It was a big moment for central Arkansas. Floyd G. "Buddy" Villines, who retired at the end of 2014 after 24 years as Pulaski County judge, says he used the efforts to attract the Little Rock Air Force Base as an inspiration when it was determined in the 1990s that central Arkansas needed a modern arena. Previous attempts to build an arena to replace aging Barton Coliseum had failed in Little Rock. Villines became convinced that a countywide initiative was required. He worked with Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey and North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays to design a compromise that would gain the support of voters in both cities. The arena would be built in North Little Rock. Tax funds also would be used for an expansion of the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock.
Central Arkansas business and civic leaders began lobbying legislators and Gov. Mike Huckabee, eventually getting a $20 million contribution from the state. Little Rock-based Alltel Corp. gave $7 million for naming rights (the arena name changed when Alltel was purchased by Verizon in June 2009), and another $17 million was raised from private sources. Pulaski County voters approved a one-cent sales tax for one year for the arena and the convention center expansion. When the $80 million arena opened in 1999, it was paid for.
"That was the best example of cooperation we had seen in central Arkansas since we got the Air Force base in the 1950s," Villines says. "Every promise we made to people regarding that project was met. We didn't give away seats. It didn't matter who you were. You still had to pay for seats. That sent a message to the general public that we weren't playing favorites."
Almost two decades after the arena opened, I ask myself, "What's the next big thing for central Arkansas?"
An obvious answer would be continued riverfront development. Villines and other elected officials accomplished a great deal with the Arkansas River Trail, a system of parks, three bridges for pedestrians (Big Dam Bridge, Junction Bridge and the Clinton Center Bridge) and a new, handsome Broadway Bridge for vehicles. Another example of cooperation came when Little Rock financier Warren Stephens bought the riverfront property that now houses Dickey-Stephens Park and then donated it after North Little Rock voters passed a temporary tax to pay for construction of the Arkansas Travelers' new home. Further development of the two downtown neighborhoods now must fall primarily on the private sector and the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock.
Villines says downtown Little Rock is still hurt by something that happened decades ago--so-called urban renewal that led to whole blocks being cleared. He believes that the old buildings, had they been allowed to remain, would now house loft apartments, craft breweries, restaurants and the like. The houses, he says, would have been renovated by young couples. Instead, downtown Little Rock is filled with surface parking lots. The land has been paid for. Owners of these awful-looking lots thus have no incentive to do anything but collect their monthly checks.
My suggestion for the next big thing that could bring everyone together: A coordinated effort to make the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock premier institutions. Much more on that later.
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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 06/09/2018