North Little Rock Wants New Ballpark

The president of North Little Rock`s Chamber of Commerce wants a 25 million dollar ballpark built in the city`s downtown. Already home to Alltel Arena, the North Little Rock riverfront offers an eleven-point-six acre plot of land owned by financier Warren Stephens. Chamber president Terry Hartwick is leading the charge for a new minor-league park to match centerpieces of downtown revitalization projects in Clearwater, Fla., Memphis, Tenn., Montgomery, Ala., and Springfield, Mo. But Hartwick doesn`t know how to pay for the project. North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays says building a stadium at the same time as an inland maritime museum would take funding from state, federal and local public sources as well as private donors. Stephens` development company bought the potential property for Six million dollars. The ballpark would be a possible home for the AA Arkansas Travelers, to woo them out of Little Rock`s Ray Winder Field, one of the oldest continuous use ballparks in the nation.