University of Arkansas administrators are discussing building a large-scale, high-quality hotel on the Fayetteville campus.
Right now, university officials are calling the prospective hotel, the University of Arkansas Executive Education Center. It’s being billed as a hotel and conference center, with a suggested 125 rooms and 13,600 square feet.
Administrators said they want to build it so that it connects to the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development’s east side. There’s currently an empty lot that separates the center from the Harmon Avenue Parking near Fairview Street.
Last year, university administrators sought the advice of a private consulting group to figure out how profitable a large-scale, high-quality hotel on the UA campus would be.
The consulting group’s study shows that it would be a three star hotel, used mostly for conferences, university-sponsored events and major sporting events.
According to the consulting agency, a hotel of that size and scale on university grounds would likely bring in more than $40 million in the first five years and customers would likely see rooms going for up to $150 per day.
The study predicts the hotel would cost around $30 million to build.
If all goes according to the five-year projection plan, the hotel would open in January 2015.
If built, this hotel would be the second-largest in the city, second only to the Guest House Inn & Suites.