With all the talk of an "experience economy" being the buzz around town it would be a real shame to sit back and see a larger performing arts facility built anywhere but at the WAC current location. With all due respect, regardless of how much growth Fayetteville's sister cities have seen and no matter how much "dickson envy" they may have, Fayetteville IS and WILL BE the cultural center of NWA. The UofA has a lot to do with this. The political make-up has something to do with this as well, as does the historical, funkiness that Fayetteville has at its core. The citizens, politicians, power brokers, school leaders, businessmen and businesswomen, and any one else with a pulse should rally right here and now to not only keep WAC in Fayetteville but also raise the funds by any and all means necessary to expand the facility to the point that it will continue to draw the entire region to downtown Fayetteville.
There is a feasibility study being conducted currently to consider the best location for an expanded facility. Why would there be any consideration to go up north? The argument is being made that the population growth is expected to hit exponential proportions in coming decades in Benton County. With this argument there are those who say Benton County should have its own facility. Years ago we adopted the notion that a regional airport would best serve our region. That place is now in Benton County. Although Drake field was nice to fly out of, the entire region has adopted XNA as our airport. We don't try to now have our own to compete with XNA. The comparison is obvious. The WAC in Fayetteville should be the PLACE for the performing arts in NWA. If we had a feasibility to say the UofA would be best served to move to Tulsa would we do it? If Wal-Mart suggested that Dallas was a better place to serve its customers needs would we just say "oh well"? I think not...Let's rally the troops to expand WAC now!
