Time to Plan Beyond War Memorial for State Title Games is Now

UCA can benefit all as host of AAA football championship games

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Aug 26, 2023 4:03 PM EDT
Original:
Aug 26, 2023

In this story:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The writing is on the wall. War Memorial Stadium isn't long for this world.

With every signal pointing toward the Razorbacks pulling football games out of Little Rock sooner than later, there's not a good financial reason to keep the ancient stadium standing. Maintenance on the place eats up a lot of capital that could go elsewhere.

But when ends occur in life, opportunity arises. In this case, that opportunity lands squarely in the lap of the University of Central Arkansas in more ways than one. When War Memorial finally goes, the Arkansas Activities Association is going to need a centrally located stadium that can host the high school state football championship games.

There's no doubt, Estes Stadium fits the bill. It's one of the larger stadiums in the state and Conway is easy to access from all corners of the state. There have also been a large number of hotel rooms and restaurants built over the past several years. There's only one problem – the turf.

Full disclosure: Andy Hodges and I went to UCA. However, when this discussion spun up Saturday afternoon, we both agreed that gaudy, hideous purple and gray striped turf is not fit for a high school championship game. It came about during a time when people were enamored with the iconic blue turf at Boise State. Not long afterward a red turf popped up in the Northwest, so the next logic to get people talking about a small school was to put in stripes and the Bears jumped on the bandwagon.

It's a trend that hasn't aged well. That's why it's perfect that the possibility of hosting the state championship games provides an excuse to return to a more traditional looking field as the current turf ages out.

It also provides a good reason to expand the stadium. It's no secret athletics director Brad Teague has done all he can to plow the path for UCA to continue climbing the NCAA ladder toward one day possibly becoming an FBS school. It's a dream that requires a larger stadium. A partnership with the AAA not only offers a logical excuse for university officials to get behind such a project, it provides incentive for the state and businesses to invest in an expansion.

It ultimately becomes a win-win. The AAA gets a nicer facility than War Memorial for its games without forcing schools to potentially drive five to six hours, and Central Arkansas gets another step closer to having major football games played in the region again. If handled correctly, it can be one of the bigger steps toward progress made from a high school and non-Razorback athletic program perspective in a long time.

It's something that will take coordination and time, so if it's going to happen, the ball will need to start rolling soon. It will be sad to see War Memorial finally fall one day because of its history and memories, but what the state gains as a whole will ease the loss of a stadium that long passed its time.