C.W. Lewis Stadium may give way to UALR expansion

BENTON — C.W. Lewis Stadium entered its official retirement in late October, but what will happen to the stadium, and when, is not yet clear.

“There are several options on the table, but it’s all very early,” Benton co-athletic director Steve Quinn said. “Nothing has been decided.”

The school district still owns the stadium and its land, Quinn said, including the adjacent former Benton Westside Junior High, which now houses the UALR-Benton Center. One major option for the future use of the property involves an expansion of UALR’s Benton campus, which would mean the destruction of C.W. Lewis Stadium.

According to Benton Mayor David Mattingly, the Benton School District has long been in talks with First Security Bank to purchase their building at 207 W. Conway St. for use as a more centralized headquarters for district administration. According to Benton School Board documents, the school district has offered First Security $2.3 million, plus traded properties including C.W. Lewis Stadium, the stadium parking lot, the administration and technology buildings, and the old junior high building. If the bank accepts the offer, First Security Bank has agreed to gift the property given to them by the school district to UALR-Benton, Mattingly said.

“It’s still being discussed,” said UALR-Benton Advisory Board Chairman Terry Benham. “The deal is still in the discussion process, but we’re expecting something to be finalized toward the spring.”

Mattingly, along with the group working on the UALR-Benton Advisory Board, hopes to see UALR expand its presence in Benton, which would include a new building. Plans for an expanded center have already been rendered and, according to those plans, C.W. Lewis Stadium would have to be torn down to accommodate new construction.

The expansion is another in the ongoing push for city improvements, Benham said, including the upcoming event center, the new high school and the new e-commerce degree being offered only at UALR-Benton.

“I’d include myself as one of the advocates for keeping [football] at C.W. Lewis,” Benham said. “But that was before I knew what the opportunities were available for UALR in our city. Once I understood that, it only makes sense for us to expand that project on that land … if you go out to the new [high school athletic] facilities, it’s apparent that we’re trading up.”

Staff writer Emily Van Zandt can be reached at (501) 399-3688 or evanzandt@arkansasonline.com.