March is the No. 1 month for hospitality and tourism in Hot Springs, according to the CEO of Visit Hot Springs.
Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison spoke to Oaklawn Rotary Club on Monday at The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa about projects the city is working on, the Hot Springs Convention Center's financial status and what to expect in Hot Springs in the coming months.
Arrison said the month of March is No. 1 when it comes to hospitality and tourism and, for Hot Springs, is the No. 3 month for sales tax collections. Among the events scheduled to take place in the city in March are the Arkansas state high school basketball finals, Thursday through Saturday at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena, the annual EAST Conference at the Hot Springs Convention Center from March 14-16, and the First Ever 14th Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 17.
"Way back when in 1967 they built the original convention center; it took about two years to build. And then, 19 years ago, y'all voted to expand it once, and then expanded again with the Bank of the Ozarks Arena," Arrison said. "If those expansions hadn't happened, we wouldn't have these people in town. We wouldn't have people who come into our city, spend their money, and then leave."
"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Alfonso Ribeiro, now the host of "America's Funniest Home Videos," will serve as the St. Patrick's Day parade's grand marshal, and pro wrestler Ric Flair will act as the official parade starter. Also in attendance will be musician Uncle Kracker, who will perform the free concert on Bridge Street after the parade, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and Tim Herlihy, the Tullamore D.E.W. United States Ambassador, who will serve as the parade's toastmaster.
Arrison said that Tullamore D.E.W. will bring in its own Irish pub, to be set up on the grass in front of the convention center. Three food trucks will be placed in that area, too, for the hungry parade-goers on that side of the street.
"It's a great opportunity for us because (Herlihy) has been all over the country with the Irish whiskey. He moves around and everyone wants to know where he's going to be for St. Patrick's Day, and he says 'Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.' That's a pretty good deal for us," Arrison said, adding that St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday this year, the same day that Arkansas' spring break begins, "so it's going to be a very, very big weekend for us."
Arrison also made it a point to clear up questions about the convention center's nearly $10 million in restricted capital reserve funds, saying the money is to take care of the convention center and is not used as advertising money.
"I used to be in Pine Bluff and if you look at their convention center, they didn't put any money back and now any time they have something that goes wrong with their facility, they have to go to the city general fund, and that means maybe your road won't be paved this year, or something else will be cut," he said, adding that the money is used for things like updating the building's lighting, a $1.3 million project which took place in 2016, and a new roof, which was another $1 million, a few years prior.
"So that's what that money is there for. It's not that we're just saving money left and right. And that money is in addition to the regular capital that we're spending. As soon as basketball's over we're going to re-carpet that whole side of the building. That's $300,000," he said. "That money is for when the huge air conditioner goes out -- large, large costs. We've got that money to take care of an asset that is owned by the city of Hot Springs, and we want it to be state-of-the-art in 30 years."
Arrison also addressed the city's 3-percent hospitality tax. He clarified that the tax applies only to prepared food and hotel rooms within the city limits.
"We'll collect about $5 million, with the majority of that, 80 percent of that, coming from people who visit. That's great for us," he said. "We have a very good quality of life here, there's a lot of things to do, a lot of great restaurants in a town of 37,000. How many other towns of 37,000 have the choices we have, the entertainment, restaurants, hotels, things to do? It makes a difference. If the tax wasn't there ... if you think about it, I don't know what we'd do.
"We have great competition. Branson, I think, has a tax just for advertising on general sales tax. We're out there, and I think it's adequate. I'm not saying we should increase it but I think we need to get aggressive and get out there."
Other projects currently being worked on in the city, Arrison said, include the reopening of the Northwoods, owned by the city of Hot Springs and located on 2,000 acres of land within minutes of the downtown area. He compared the area to "going out in the wilderness in Montana or something," adding that it hasn't been open to the public in years.
New mountain bike trails at Cedar Glades Park, the new Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail and updating the city's athletic locations, such as baseball fields at the Boys & Girls Club, are also in the works.
Local on 03/07/2017