Simmons Bank Arena

Simmons Bank Arena is an 18,000-seat multi-purpose facility that opened in North Little Rock (Pulaski County) in October 1999. It offers meeting and conference space of 28,000 square feet. The arena has been owned by the Multi-Purpose Civic Center Facilities Board for Pulaski County since 2004. The arena has had three names: Alltel Arena (1999–2009), Verizon Arena (2009–2019), and Simmons Bank Arena (2019–).

Prior to the construction of the arena, Barton Coliseum had served as central Arkansas’s only multi-purpose arena since 1952. The residents of Pulaski County voted on the River Project sales tax proposal in August 1995, which proposed a one-cent sales tax increase to fund the expansion of the Statehouse Convention Center, build a new multi-purpose arena, and support several other local initiatives. County judge Floyd G. “Buddy” Villines lobbied for the proposed plan, which passed. The arena was to host conferences, conventions, sporting events, tournaments, concerts, and other events to raise revenue for the Little Rock (Pulaski County) metropolitan area. The new arena was built in North Little Rock between East Broadway Street and East Washington Avenue near Interstate 30.

The new arena was named Alltel Arena after the Alltel Corporation purchased the naming rights for $7 million. The original budget for construction of the arena was $71 million, but the project would ultimately cost $80 million. The architects for the project were Burt Taggart and Associates, the Wilcox Group, Rosser International, and Garver and Garver. The general contractors were Vratsinas Construction Company of Little Rock and Turner Construction Company of New York and Dallas. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 21, 1997.

The project was scheduled for completion in August 1999; however, the arena pushed the opening date to October 2, 1999, which was then postponed due to structural issues. The delay was caused by concrete pillars and the incline being off balance, embeds that were misplaced, steel beam welds in the concourse that did not follow industry standards, and concrete falling from the arena ceiling; in addition, the project was plagued by disagreements between project partners. A cracked beam was discovered by construction workers prior to what was supposed to be the arena’s inaugural event, a National Basketball Association (NBA) exhibition game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards. That game was canceled, along with the season opener for the Arkansas RiverBlades hockey team.

The first event held at Alltel Arena was an Arkansas RiverBlades versus South Carolina Stingrays match-up on October 28, 1999, with 10,574 in attendance. The arena’s first concert, by Elton John, was held on October 29, 1999; John’s third visit to the Little Rock metropolitan area hosted a maximum capacity crowd of 18,000.

In 2022, the arena hosted 137 events, with more than 315,000 tickets sold and earning over $27 million. The events included musical concerts, comedy shows, Monster Truck rallies, professional and college basketball games, and professional wrestling events. The arena was ranked fiftieth for the best concert venue in the world by Pollstar. Artists such as Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, James Taylor, Air Supply, Janet Jackson, and many more have appeared at the arena.

Over the years, the venue served as the primary home for three sports teams: 1999–2003 for the Arkansas RiverBlades from the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL); 2000–2009 for the Arkansas Twisters from Arena Football 2 (AF2), which moved to the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2010 and joined the National Gridiron League in 2018 as the Arkansas Diamonds; and 2004–2007 for the Arkansas RimRockers from the American Basketball Association (ABA)/NBA Development League. It also served as home for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock men’s and women’s basketball teams, which moved from Barton Coliseum to Alltel Arena in 1999 before returning to the UA Little Rock campus in 2005 to play at the Jack Stephens Center. Until 2022, the venue hosted graduation ceremonies for various area high schools, along with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Baptist Health.

The 13,975-square-foot Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Museum opened in the arena in 2007.

In 2008, Verizon bought Alltel. The arena was known as Verizon Arena until Simmons Bank purchased the naming rights to the arena from Verizon in 2018 for $10.5 million. The arena became Simmons Bank Arena in October 2019.

For additional information:
“Alltel Arena.” Advertising Supplement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 26, 1999, pp. 1–12.

Buffalo, Mark. “RimRockers Make ABA History with Championship Season.” Jacksonville Patriot, March 30, 2005.

Cottingham, Jan. “The Alltel Arena: Is the Sky Really Flying?” Arkansas Times, November 13, 1998, pp. 10–15.

Hale, Tyler. “The End of an Era: Verizon Arena Changes Name This Week.” Arkansas Money & Politics, September 30, 2019. https://armoneyandpolitics.com/end-era-verizon-arena-changes-name-week/ (accessed on September 5, 2024).

Harris, Jim. “The Arena: A Fan’s Notes.” Arkansas Times, December 17, 1999, pp. 10–13.

McGuire. Kim. “Beam Crack Kills Arena’s Big Night.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 13, 1999, p. 1A.

Moreau, Andrew. “Arena Finishing Big Year with 137 Events, $27 Million in Ticket Sales.” Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 25, 2022. https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/dec/25/arena-finishing-big-year-with-137-events-27/ (accessed September 5, 2024).

Stromquist, Kat. “PB Bank to Pay $10.5M to Put Name on Arena.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, November 10, 2018, pp. 1A, 5A. Online at https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/nov/11/pb-bank-to-pay-10-5m-to-put-name-on-are/ (accessed September 5, 2024).

“Twisters Open with Record Setting Performance.” Jacksonville Patriot, April 12, 2000, p. 5.

Walker, Nick. “New AF1 to Include Twisters.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 29, 2009. p. 13.

James Wethington
UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture