BENTONVILLE (KFSM) — A town hall with Sen. Tom Cotton will be held at the Pat Walker Performing Arts Center on Wednesday (Feb. 22), according to his office.
The center is located on the Springdale High School campus. The town hall will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 6:30 p.m.
The Northwest Arkansas Town Hall was supposed to be held at the Arend Arts Center in Bentonville. Bentonville Schools director of communications Paul Stolt said the district determined that they would not be able to safely accommodate the number of people expected at this event.
The event was originally going to be held at the Jones Center in Springdale. More than 1,100 people have RSVP’d for the event through Facebook.
Cotton announced the event last week.
Cotton released the following statement on Monday:
“I look forward to welcoming Arkansans at Wednesday’s town hall at the Pat Walker Performing Arts Center on the Campus of Springdale High School and I appreciate your patience as we’ve changed venues over the past few days. On Sunday evening, the Bentonville school board approved the use of the Arend Arts Center, but they withdrew their offer after the Bentonville police chief expressed concerns over security. I’m grateful the Springdale School Board has made their larger facility available, and I want to encourage as many Arkansans as possible to come to what should be an engaging and informative event.”
Ahead of the event, Senator Cotton posted on his Facebook page:
“In accordance with the guidelines provided by Springdale High School, there will be no access to the Springdale High School campus until 4:20 PM on Wednesday, February 22nd and the doors to the Pat Walker Performing Arts Center will open to the public at 4:45 PM. No firearms, large bags or backpacks, food, or drink, will be permitted in the Pat Walker Performing Arts Center.”
