Arkansas Blog

It is my understanding an RFP will be issued soon for Ray Winder Field. Selling RWF will also be explored. If it sells, the proceeds will be tied to expanding War Memorial Park south of I-630. I vote sell it. Expanding WMP south will serve as a unifying force for our community.

ARK. BLOG: I'm for the expansion. But sale of Winder? Depends on to whom, for what? If it's a no-cash sale to the tiresome baseball heads who want to stick a redundant youth ballpark there that the city would have to maintain while it continues to rot, no thanks. It should go only for something that amounts to year-around park use for the whole community.

Anybody know what that nearly-finished memorial-looking thingy on the Markham side of the stadium is? Looks like five (future) eternal flames on pedestals, but there's no indication what it's for. Iraq vets, maybe? Where'd it come from?

It absolutely boggles my mind why the City would not provide Ray Winder Field to the Zoo for further expansion. The Zoo is the most (or second most) visited attraction in the city. It has every opportunity to build on its recent/current upgrades to further enhance the zoo as not only a city but a regional destination. The Ray Winder Field property is immediately adjacent to the zoo, is clearly the most logical expansion option and, in fact, is the only zoo expansion option that wouldn't require jumping a major street or highway.
If the zoo has an even halfway decent proposal, the City needs to have an extremely compelling reason to turn it down. And a short-sighted, limited cash infusion that might result from sale to another party and effectively eliminate zoo expansion would be a serious embarrassment for the City if anyone with a brain considers this issue from a long-term urban (and zoo) planning perspective. The amount of revenue the City can bring in over time making the zoo an even greater attraction than it already is would offset any "loss" from not selling RWF to a third party.
There is a great opportunity here...shame on the City if it squanders that opportunity.

Sorry Max, but I disagree. Why can't Ray Winder be used for High School Baseball?

Have you been to Parkview's or Hall's fields recently? And Central for that matter. Do you even know where Coleman Field is?

The issue is, the City of Little Rock has never wanted to be in the sports business. Bryan Day has told me that many times over.

The Little Rock teams always enjoy going to Burns Park to play because it is a first class facillity.

Someone needs to be honest on the Little Rock Board. We either support or do not support youth baseball in this town. Step up and say it.

a--say what you will about Admiral Hays, he doesn't f*** around with BS task forces that take parts of two different mayoral terms to come up with a new way to part their hair.

b--the strange contraption..could it be that WEH has got another sculpture gig for that talentless Strange Brood Deering? Sheesh, why is he in the paper...WEH's bastard love child maybe? He draws editorial cartoons with antiquated analogies that always have to be labeled, he draws a pointless sad imitation of G. Larson's once-in-a-lifetime brilliant strip, and makes pedestrian sculpture. Other than that, I admire his work.

Lame accreditation or not, dedicated staff and docents or not......the zoo is 80% pathetic. Replace it with a heated, air/conditioned bus terminal that has a luxurious LR Tours coach leaving twice daily, four times on Saturdays and Sundays, for the Memphis Zoo. The bus trip over and back would have a state of the art video program running An Inconvenient Truth on the way east, and Best of Crocodile Hunter Steve on the way home. Once a month , a special bus to the best zoo between the coasts, the St Louis Zoo...still free every day. The money saved in elephant and rhino feed alone would pay for the bus trip and free admission for all in Memphis. Demo the Hanoi Hilton cages, fill in the dens,ditches and wallows, grade it flat, and you got yourself a soccer complex. Pre-fertilized.

And now, here are the scores:

Golfers: 1
Tennis: 0

Golfers: 1
Archers: 0

Mayor Stodola: 0
Stacy Hurst: 0
(Into perpetual overtime as both appear to be long-term zeros)

If RWF was closer to the RiverMarket, there would never be a issue of 'saving' RWF now would it?

THANK GOD!!!

At least for the golfers and the park in general. We don't maintain and operate our parks well enough to screw up War Memorial. Zoos are too expensive for a city run as poorly as Little Rock. We can keep what we have for aninals that are cheap and easy to care for and gradually weed out the expensive and exotic animals.

Then Fletch and Sanford, perhaps it is better to get to the bottom of your concerns and find better leadership to run (or find a way to BETTER run) the zoo and matters related to it, instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater as you both suggest - and which I note is completely unrealistic as it is clear the zoo is not shutting down but is, in fact, improving greatly.
Your comments go to the negativity in this city and not to the opportunities we have to enhance the resources and assets we already have. If the City's management of the zoo isn't up to par, then get new City management, don't shut down the zoo (or ship people off to other zoos, sending money and opportunity with them).
The zoo is here to stay and it is in the top two of most popular destinations. Fact. So how can we take it and make it even better and turn it into a place like the Memphis or St. Louis Zoo, or perhaps add on an aquarium, etc. The tools are all there but I'm hearing that the leadership is lacking.
Your negative attitudes are what is really pathetic. So turn those frowns upside down and find a constructive way to meet the challenges. There are plenty of soccer fields and city parks around, a zoo is a unique feature in any city. This one is on the upswing. Lead, follow or get the heck out of the way. And at the very least - be thoughtful.

Why would they tear down the tennis courts to build more picnic spaces?

Newsflash Truman: People don't want to picnic within stones throw of two busy streets and a parking lot.

There are picnic benches on the other side of the courts next to ADH. Guess who uses those? The occasional ADH employees. That's it! Seriously, what families would be like "Hey, lets go sit and eat right next to Markham and get some fumes with our food.

People like to picnic in lovely, secluded spots, like say the picnic areas by the pond and soon to be former archery range. Notice those spots are heavily used?

So why in the hell the city would (1) tear down an amenity that is being used for (2) an amenity that will not be used because of its unsuitable, kid unfriendly location especially when (3) that amenity already exists in WMP?

The thing with the St. Louis Zoo (maybe the Memphis Zoo too?) is that it is supported by taxes AND by the local business community.
Millions and millions of dollars has been pumped into it from corporations like Monsanto (blood money for ruining the enviroment?), A-Busch and others and while some money has been donated to the Little Rock Zoo over time (hog pen?) the corporations in Arkansas do not support the zoo here at all.

I cannot stand to go to any zoo, but especially Little Rock. I know there are cases where they save species from extinction, but that is the exception. To see large animals that are born to roam confined to little areas so we can stare at them is cruelty in the extreme.

I have a positive attitude about many things. Little Rock City Hall, not so much. Anyone who has lived here for long knows Little Rock governance. There are plenty of cities around the country that are run by the realtors and business interests. That is nothing new or special in old LR. It is just a fact. In our particular case a fact on the decline because of the deteriorating bureaucracy.

Little Rock will NEVER have the resources of a Memphis, St. Louis, San Diego or any other of the great national zoos. At the very best we should maximize expenses to meet what is reasonable for a city our size. It can still serve a wonderful, local purpose without abusing animals that decade after decade will become more scarce and expensive to care for not to mention more acreage than will ever be available within the city.

Solon is right. If they are going to kill the archery range why kill the tennis. There is only minimal use of the existing picnic area. There is plenty of space in that area of unused parking to put up several more pavilions and even a new play area without destroying the tennis.

Yes, I do wish new leadership was possible.

Maybe, now that Vic is going to be too busy to run for Congress he could run for Mayor.

BeThoughtful,
I have a higher chance of success in using my bare hands to capture aardvarks and wildebeests for the zoo than in making the LR form of governance effective.

The city has made many efforts to secure state assistance for the zoo. That would help but is never going to happen either.

Then Sanford, RUN for office. Be the change. Waaay too easy (although certainly your prerogative) to sit on the sideline and Monday morning quarterback.
I'm looking for solutions to the problems, not problems with the solutions. Hold their feet to the fire, offer solutions, let's get things moving in the right direction. If the City is laying down on the job, then let's expose their sloth and get someone else in there with an eye toward real governance, positive urban planning and a focus on using the good we've got to make the city great.
Turn your cynicism into a more positive vision and you'll have my vote!
Just look...your/our comments here sparked the Mayor to engage on the issue...we can keep this going, keep the dialogue moving and be a part of the change we want to see.
I like your insight on getting state assistance for the zoo...how can we further that cause? I'm new to this but am interested....

Run for office????!!! With my criminal convictions??

Sanford--spot on commentary on Deering. I swear he consults a "Far Side" compilation when the ole creative well is dry. As for Ray Winder, no one was a bigger proponent of renovating/reusing it than me until I attended Valentine's "garage sale" there last fall. The place is the saddest dump you could imagine. I say let the zoo have it for Ellen and her buddy pachyderm.