masons_dad1

I think that's great for Drake Field... although I think The Ozark Military Museum moving from Springdale to Drake Field a couple years ago was also great news! Which reminds me... AIRFEST 2006 June 17-18!!!

Matt, I live in Rogers and the flakes were huge during the day but I didn't expect much to stick but when I got up to go to work there was a thick layer of glassy ice on my car (maybe not a full inch thick!).

I've checked out some of the forums from a couple of the cities I've lived in (St. Pete & Dallas) and they are much slower than this forum. We'll show them what NWA is all about!

I for one have found everyone here to be extremely knowledgable about NWA and Arkansas in general and I'm hooked. It's exhausting trying to stay updated with all the developments and growth in NWA but now I don't have to browse through dozens of Web Favorites and local newspapers to stay ahead of the game. As long as I have internet access I'll be here every day... at least when my 18 mo. old son let's me.

My car was covered in an inch thick sheet of ice. BTW... if your car doors ever get frozen shut just turn around and give the door a good rump bump... seems to work for me.

Found a map somewhere that has all the attractions the Botanic Gardens will have. I may have spoken too soon about the amphitheater there.

Another big company based in Tampa is Outback Steakhouse. But the fact is there are many large companies there even though they may not be Fortune 500 companies. On the subject I was questioning why developers in this area think they should sell fancy townhomes for much higher than their value based on this location. The fact is if Wal-Mart wasn't here there wouldn't be any $800,000 townhouses in this area because they wouldn't be worth a tenth of that proposed value. St. Pete/Tampa has valuable homes because that area has much more to offer than this area and they don't have any of the "big" companies like Wal-Mart.

It's about even... St. Petersburg thrives on Tampa's Cultural features like the International Mall, dance clubs and Busch Gardens Theme Park and Tampa thrives on St. Pete's beaches, museums and unique destinations like St. John's Pier... a multi-level concrete pier where the HMS Bounty is usually exhibited.

There's a lot of companies in St. Petersburg, but most people that live there work in Tampa across the Bay... which is comparable to people in Fayetteville working in Bentonville. I'll get back to you on what "big" companies are headquartered in St. Pete/Tampa, but the only one in St. Pete that pops into my head is Home Shopping Network.

LOL... those Tyson folks are so funny!

I agree with #2: They Can. As for #1: the land not being cheap in Pinnacle, I still wonder why the homes are worth so much more there than in comparable cities. St. Petersburg, Florida has some of the nicest homes in the country and seemingly unlimited Arts, Culture and most importantly Recreational activities like Theme Parks and let's not forget the best Gulf Coast Beaches. St. Petersburg is also one of the fastest growing cities in the country with quite a bit of wealth there. So one can understand why new homes there would be worth a lot of money, but it doesn't make much sense here because, aside from all the hype about NWA, this area doesn't really have anything to offer that you can't get anywhere else.

Crystal Bridges will be an awesome Art Museum but it won't really cater to the Arts. They're planning a small outdoor amphitheatre for local musicians, but for the real Arts like Broadway shows and musicals the Walton Arts Center is still the only one in the region... unless you consider the Rogers Little Theatre and The Village Players on the same level as Broadway. Also there are several very nice Art Museums in Fayetteville along with many art programs for area schools. Then you have the music venues on Dickson... all we have in Rogers is the Bayou kareoke bar. As for Culture, Fayetteville has the best Farmer's Market, many fine restaurants and clubs and the best Annual Events in the region... First Night is pretty big. Also, Fayetteville had that outdoor music amphitheatre at the Mall for a while. Plus there's an outdoor amphitheatre at the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks at Lake Fayetteville. Then there's the University of Arkansas with all it's Arts & Culture. I don't think Benton County will see anything close to that kind of stuff other than Crystal Bridges and Santa visiting the outdoor ice skating rink in downtown Bentonville every Christmas. Well, there is the Ozark Balloon Festival to look forward to.

Maybe Wal-Mart will start pushing for direct international cargo to be flown into XNA again. XNA was supposed to have two bigger runways and freight terminals to handle international freight but Congress shot them down because they didn't want Wal-Mart flying products in from China without going through customs.

Considering most of the growth in NWA is in retail, which this area has been lacking for so many years, I'm leaning more toward Johnson as the center of NWA... it being closer to the University of Arkansas and the Walton Arts Center, major shopping centers and the majority of the entertainment venues and it has it's share of office development happening along the bypass. It also has a lot of land on the west side of the bypass. I think culture and the arts are going to be more important to NWA than retail shopping centers.

WOW! That's almost twice what my sister paid for her new Town Home in St. Pete, Florida. Where do the developers get their home values from anyway? What makes those Town Homes twice as valuable as comparable homes in bigger cities that have a lot more to offer?

That would be the one... I figured it was already built but I guess the article I read wasn't too long ago either.

Unless they were referring to 400,000 Elves since Greenland has such an Elvish ring to it (no pun intended).

Good thing I came along when I did or it might have been a whole day longer to reach 4000!

I do appreciate that XNA built a new commercial check-in counter recently. The article I read stated that some passengers were uncomfortable when people were checking in coffins at the ticket counter. I could see how that might make someone a little nervous about flying. Final Destination comes to mind.

Happy New Year Tim! Shadowrun takes place in the year 2050 shortly after war broke out in the U.S. There were Indian Wars and wars between the newly awakened Elves, Trolls, Dwarves and Humans so the populations indicated for Tri-City are based on mass relocations from rural areas to major Metro Areas or Sprawls. In reality we can only predict future growth for NWA based on past growth indicators, but there are many possible futures that could completely exaggerate future growth.

Hey Matt... Happy New Year! If you're not familiar with Shadowrun, it's a Role Playing Game that takes place in the year 2050 after a dimensional shift occurs on Earth that awakens Magic and Elves, Dwarves, Trolls and the likes. Aside from the Magical element I found it interesting that the guys that created the Tri-City game did it in 1990 and a lot has changed in NWA since then. It's still interesting reading about NWA in a futuristic Sci-Fi scenario.

If anyone has ever heard of the RPG Shadowrun, I ran into a very interesting website a few years ago featuring NWA in a futuristic Cyberpunk setting for Shadowrun. NWA Metro is renamed Tri-City and Springdale is renamed Center City. The site is still up but is not being updated. What does this have to do with Springdale? Center City (Springdale) becomes the premier city of Tri-City (NWA). Check it out! Tri-City Shadowrun RPG

Oh no, please don't get me wrong. I'm not referring to the Hispanic people or their products and services. I'm merely pointing out that the buildings they seem to be satisfied in occupying should be demolished or renovated.

Only thing is they're not just starting out... most of the Hispanic merchants and eating places in Springdale are in the same sad state that they were in before I moved here in 1998.

It's sad that most of the hispanic stores and clubs in Springdale are in abandoned gas stations and old buildings that are in need of serious renovation.