Municipal Auditorium project has benefactor
Native son could gift city funds to restore historic music venue
TEXARKANA, Ark. — Local officials this week were briefed on a proposal by a New Zealand businessman with Texarkana roots to pay for restoration of the city’s historic Municipal Auditorium.
During a tour of the auditorium Tuesday, members of the Arkansas Municipal Auditorium Commission informed Mayor Allen Brown and members of the city Board of Directors of Clay Nelson’s proposal to fund an overhaul of the nearly century-old venue.
Nelson is a Texarkana native and son of Carl “Cheesie” Nelson, president of Texarkana College from 1975 until his death in 2001, according to information provided by the AMAC.
Nelson is the founder of a Wellington, New Zealand, sales IT company called Relationship Unlimited, his profile on the social media site LinkedIn says. He declined to be interviewed
for this story.
Commissioner Debbie Haak said Nelson’s investment in the auditorium would be “a gift to the city.” The Board of Directors created the AMAC in 2002 to lead renovation of the auditorium. It has no paid staff and operates mainly on a volunteer basis.
“Our gift is going to be the work that goes into this,” Haak said.
A Little Rock architecture firm has prepared plans for bringing the auditorium, which for decades was used for city document storage, back to life. The AMAC estimates total cost of a restoration to be $3.5 million.
“I think everybody was receptive,” Haak said of Tuesday’s tour, noting that it was only the first small step in a process that, if realized, will require patience.
Built in 1928, the auditorium is best known for hosting concerts by 1950s rock and roll performers such as Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley, many of whom stopped in Texarkana on the way to and from performances for the Louisiana Hayride radio show in Shreveport.
Carl Nelson is said to have invented impersonating Presley, now a popular fan activity, on the auditorium’s stage while an audience waited for Elvis’ arrival.
A Walk of Fame installed by the AMAC on the grounds of the Arkansasside Municipal Building — which contains City Hall and a fire station along with the auditorium — includes plaques commemorating the most significant artists who performed there. The auditorium’s lobby contains museum-style displays of historical photos and artifacts.
In recent years, grants have funded partial restoration of the exterior, but much work remains to return the auditorium to the “beautiful and functional” venue for regular performances that Haak and the AMAC envision.