War Memorial Stadium

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
TO STAY AT WMS

LITTLE ROCK – War Memorial Stadium just celebrated 35 years of hosting the state’s high school football championship games.

The championship games will remain at War Memorial Stadium for at least the next 12 years with an agreement in place with the Arkansas Activities Association.

“No matter where you come from in the state, this is right here in the center of the state in our capitol,” said Lance Taylor, Executive Director of the AAA. “Everybody wants to get here ‘the road to the Rock.’ That begins in preseason when they start lifting in January, that’s what the coaches start telling those kids that you’ve got to work now to get to the Rock. That carries on all season. Being here in central Arkansas is just convenient for everybody.”

Next year will celebrate 70 years of existence for the stadium, which opened in 1948 as ‘a tribute to Arkansans who had given their lives in the service of their country during the two great World Wars’ according to the stadium website.

It opened with stands just on each side with a capacity of 31,075. Now it will seat 54,120 and has undergone several renovations through the years.

“If you look around, they’ve done a lot of upgrades,” Taylor said. “You remember the old pressbox? This is unbelievable compared to what they used to have. They’ve upgraded the rest rooms, the concession stand. This year was the scoreboard. They try to do some upgrades every year. They’ve been good to us.”

The Arkansas Razorbacks have been the main draw for the stadium through the years but recent administration made it unclear how long that relationship may last. Former Razorback football coach Bret Bielema considered the annual game in Little Rock a road game. Former athletic director Jeff Long also wasn’t a fan of playing games in Little Rock especially after stadium improvements on the University of Arkansas campus.

In 1948, the Razorbacks played four games at War Memorial Stadium. Beginning in 2014, they have played one per year.

Regardless of what happens with the Razorbacks playing in Little Rock, the state’s high school football players will continue to play there.

In 1983, the AAA decided to move the championship games from neutral sites and high school sites to War Memorial Stadium on a full-time basis. Just four years later, when Southside and Northside played for the championship in the state’s largest classification, it didn’t make much sense to play the game 2-1/2 hours away. Fort Smith Athletic Director Bill Stancil offered the AAA $10,000 of the gate receipts to hold the game at Northside’s Mayo-Thompson Stadium. Through the years, when other teams from northwest Arkansas played for the championship, efforts were made to move the game to Reynolds Stadium at the University of Arkansas. Spreading those games around while still playing other games at War Memorial Stadium just isn’t feasible.

“My whole staff is here and everybody has a job to do here,” Taylor said during championship weekend. “We’ve had people here all day doing different things to try to get ready from the coke delivery, the food delivery, to tickets, to banners, everything we do is a process. For me to split my staff, if we have one up there and then we’re getting ready to play one here. I don’t know how that would be possible. I know it happens like that every once in a while. Again, everybody plays here and that’s part of the tradition. That’s part of the excitement for the kids. They want to be here.”

Next year will also mark the millionth person to walk through the gates for the state’s championship games, according to prep historian Walter Woodie and his research of attendance for the games.

The stadium, though, is utilized for high school football much more than just the championship games. Little Rock Catholic plays its home games there. Kickoff classics are held there each year to begin the season for several teams. No high school game draws more than the annual Salt Bowl played at the stadium between Saline County rivals Benton and Bryant. Last year, the game drew 32,128. In 2016, it drew 30,613. The year before, there were 34,086, which is a Salt Bowl record.

It’s been a relationship that has worked through the years especially now with six classifications spread across two weekends. This year, due to Earle’s forfeits, a third weekend was even needed for Class 2A to wrap up the season a week before Christmas. It’s a relationship that has worked and will continue to work.

“They want us, and we want to be here,” Taylor said. “It’s in the center of the state. It’s easy to get here on the interstates. We have a contract to keep it here for a long time.”