Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Northwest Arkansas is one big, happy region
FAYETTEVILLE — Northwest Arkansas is more than the “Big Four” cities of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville.
The Metropolitan Statistical area encompasses Benton, Washington and Madison counties as well as McDonald County, Mo., but there are also close relationships with neighbors like Fort Smith, Van Buren and Eureka Springs as well Crawford County and eastern Oklahoma.
Eureka Springs is outside the Northwest Arkansas metro area, but it’s close enough that people commute to and from there for work. The city is also a popular weekend destination. The scenery and vibe of the place don’t hurt either.
“It’s not a far drive at all. I feel like Eureka is the corridor’s playground because we always have something going on that’s different from what the corridor has,” said Tammy Thurow, president of the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce. “They have lots of shopping with the bigger name brands and a lot of chains, although the towns have become unique in their restaurants. But, we are different. We are a fun playground with a lot of great places to eat, unique shops and great bars with music. It’s a wonderful place to get away to.”
Watching visitors roll in on weekends, Thurow said she’s amazed at how busy Eureka Springs stays throughout the year. There always seems to be a festival or event of some kind going, she said.
“Come see us; we’ve got a lot of festivals coming up,” Thurow said.
Siloam Springs may be 25 miles from the Interstate 49 corridor, but it is part of the Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.
“Some people call it the ‘Big Five.’ They treat us like an equal, and I appreciate that,” said Wayne Mays, President and CEO of the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce. “We have a wonderful working relationship in this region.”
Mays said regional chamber leaders meet monthly, and he’s been head of that organization twice in the last few years.
“If we’re going to do something as a group, it’s all for one and one for all, and we rotate leadership of that group,” Mays said. “We do have shared goals, and many times those goals appear to be the same as the Northwest Arkansas Council’s goals.”
The council is a private, nonprofit organization that works to improve Northwest Arkansas’ economic development, infrastructure and workforce.
Because Siloam Springs is a smaller town in the region, its residents must look to the corridor cities for some services, Mays said.
“Obviously, any retail services and medical services, that sort of thing, that we don’t have, that’s where we go,” he said. “That’s our goto location over here.”
But the road goes both ways, Mays said.
“Over here, we see folks from over there. Many times it’s things like our kayak park and our historic downtown. They enjoy coming over and seeing it and eating in our restaurants and the Cherokee Casino is right across the line,” in West Siloam Springs, Okla., he said. “We see lots of activity, and we see lots of people from the corridor at our chamber events. Sky Ranch Skydive brings a lot of people over here. A lot of neat stuff.”
Fort Smith may be over the mountains, through the Interstate 49 tunnel and in its own Metropolitan Statistical Area, but companies looking at the region don’t see those divisions, said Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce.
“Whenever I’m selling Fort Smith to a company or consultant, I’m selling an entire commuting population, which includes all the way up to Fayetteville because that’s how companies see us,” Allen said. “They don’t see artificial lines that we have all drawn in our minds and our communities. I’m selling the entire region, which includes Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith area as well as over into Oklahoma.”
Allen said it’s natural for residents to commute for work in both directions up and down Interstate 49.
“We have to look at ourselves as one big economic engine, not as two separate economic engines,” Allen said.