Northwest Arkansas Sports and Entertainment Arena

[mcheiss]

Doesn't look like 10 Floors to me from this pic.

[RAK]

Doesn't look like 10 Floors to me from this pic.

[mcheiss]

Also, you need a parking garage no matter what, otherwise you have a huge, huge lot taking up all kinds of space or not enough space and people parking everywhere (ever try to park for a Cubs game in Chicago? )

[RAK]

Been there, done that, and had a helluva time getting my car out later on...and that was if I was lucky to find one close enough.

Course, walking up into Wrigley Field made it worth it

[cowbreath]

Been there, done that, and had a helluva time getting my car out later on...and that was if I was lucky to find one close enough.

Course, walking up into Wrigley Field made it worth it

[RAK]

Yeah, I wonder how many levels down it is

[dimebag1980]

If you've ever spent time in a parking garage after a game, you'd reconsider. It's easy to get out of surface lots with multiple entrances but decks always back up as everyone tries to exit on the lower deck at the same time. It's actually pretty awful.

[masons_dad1]

If you've ever spent time in a parking garage after a game, you'd reconsider. It's easy to get out of surface lots with multiple entrances but decks always back up as everyone tries to exit on the lower deck at the same time. It's actually pretty awful.

[Aporkalypse]

Either way with several thousand cars trying to get out of Pleasant Crossing there will be some waiting in traffic. So people can wait in traffic in a parking deck or at an intersection. At least the parking deck will keep the intersections lass backed up.

[mcheiss]

Maybe but if you're on the upper floors of the deck it may take an hour to get down for a real event.

Of course minor league sports with 2000 or less people attending them won't present much of a challenge. I would expect concerts that fill it to capacity to cause hellacious problems.

[Mith242]

Me neither, but maybe a different angle would show something.

Also, you need a parking garage no matter what, otherwise you have a huge, huge lot taking up all kinds of space or not enough space and people parking everywhere (ever try to park for a Cubs game in Chicago? )

[cowbreath]

Yeah, maybe some of you are right about the parking deck. Better designs excluding, I guess it is ok to have the sprawling parking lot. I think I'll just ride the train and park back in Fayetteville, though.

[cocothief]

I prefer the parking deck option.

Having a parking deck leaves more adjacent land for future development of other attractions and even housing.

Think longterm, people. Do we want an arena in an asphalt field, or do we want an entertainment complex/ multiuse destination?

Getting out of huge parking lots versus getting out of parking garages really isn't that much different. Its all a function of the number of points of exit and the surrounding infrastructure anyway.

[Mith242]

At least we aren't talking about something larger like a football type stadium (50K+) and a parking deck. There will be some inconvenience trying to leave but we aren't talking about a really huge arena either.

[masons_dad1]

I prefer the parking deck option.

Having a parking deck leaves more adjacent land for future development of other attractions and even housing.

Think longterm, people. Do we want an arena in an asphalt field, or do we want an entertainment complex/ multiuse destination?

Getting out of huge parking lots versus getting out of parking garages really isn't that much different. Its all a function of the number of points of exit and the surrounding infrastructure anyway.

[mcheiss]

Agreed. Pleasant Crossing has very little infrastructure as it is and unless that little 2-lane road cutting through Pleasant Crossing is widened to at least 5-lanes it'll be a joke getting out of there after a game or concert. Let's not forget there's a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Tuscany Square, Walgreens and a Home Depot at the intersection of Pleasant Crossing and Pleasant Grove Road. Add those thousands of cars on a weekend to the mix. Add more restaurants, retailers, hotels and whatever and it would be beyond any nightmare. Maybe a vast asphalt field would be better.

[masons_dad1]

Home Depot isn't in Pleasant Crossing.

There's adequate infastructure at Pleasant Crossing. They have several 5 lane roads throughout the development, as well as double turn lane traffic lights. You are right that they need to widen the overpass. The bond program that Rogers passed should help pay for that. I'm not sure when it will start though. I know where I'll be parking once the arena is built. There's a relatively large parking lot for Sportsman's Warehouse that's relatively empty that runs along Pleasant Crossing Blvd. You can get in and out real quickly.

[mcheiss]

Home Depot is off New Hope Road.

[masons_dad1]

Home Depot is off New Hope Road.

[mcheiss]

Even without Home Depot there will be a monstrous bottleneck at the I-540/Pleasant Grove interchange before and after a game or concert. There really needs to be a way out of there to the south. They're going to need to have a connection to I-540/Hwy 264 to the south in Lowell. They also need to widen 26th Street from Pleasant Crossing north to New Hope Road. That would be the ideal infrastructure needed for this to be successful. They wouldn't really need to widen the overpasses that way either, but that would help.

[Aporkalypse]

Actually they picked a pretty good site to avoid traffic yet still make it accessible. Redoing that interchange with 540 would help - isn't it being revamped right now?

Building it in Pinnacle would've been madness.

[mcheiss]

Actually they picked a pretty good site to avoid traffic yet still make it accessible. Redoing that interchange with 540 would help - isn't it being revamped right now?

Building it in Pinnacle would've been madness.

[Aporkalypse]

The overpass is suppose to be revamped, but not the exit. Perry Road Exit is the one under construction.

I agree that the location is better than Pinnacle, but it would have been sweet to have it right there next to the high-rises.

[mcheiss]

...until you got stuck in traffic. Mixing big box retail and a mall with high-rises and an arena with only a few meandering roads all feeding into a single interstate exit is a setup for excruciating traffic.

[itk]

...until you got stuck in traffic. Mixing big box retail and a mall with high-rises and an arena with only a few meandering roads all feeding into a single interstate exit is a setup for excruciating traffic.