I would disagree with that. I go to NW Ark. 5-6 times a year on business, and it has to be one of the fastest growing areas in the country. There is a lot of development going on there. Pretty soon, Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Rogers will basically be one big city of over 1 million people. Don't know if it will do anything for FB recruiting, but that area is growing rapidly.
Yea, one of my best friends works there (at Wal Mart, almost obviously) and it's surprising what a little metroplex they have developing. Now, to be fair, it still sucks quite a bit, especially since they're dry counties. I always thought Nutt was a decent enough game day coach, but a terrible recruiter. They get just enough good athletes to show that it's not a bad place to play, but he can't seem to fill out the roster. I think (and I could be wrong) that their facilities are actually pretty good, but he's recruiting against about 10 teams from TX/OK, and 10 more from neighboring states, almost all of which have a better tradition.
Now, to be fair, it still sucks quite a bit, especially since they're dry counties. We sell to Wal-Mart, so I am also there quite often. I know Rogers/Bentonville is dry... but Springdale is wet. I was at Beaver Lake (Rogers) in August and I believe we drank three beers each while driving down to Springdale to buy more booze.
I don't think you can drive for more than 1/2 mile in Louisiana (other than bridges) and not hit a place to buy booze. That's the Gold Standard. :thumb:
Correct, sir. Washington County (Fayetteville & Springdale) is wet, but Benton and surrounding rural counties are dry. Another surprising thing to me...Spanish is quickly overtaking English in Sprigndale. Working in poultry plants must be more profitable than picking lettuce in the Rio Grande valley. :hihi:
Does your company have an office in the area? My rep in Springdale tells me that the gods of Wal-Mart has decreed that all vendors MUST maintain a staffed office within 30 minutes of company headquarters, and that's the main reason for the growth. Wondering if that's true?
Wow how the mighty have fallen...just a short time ago people were annointing Nutt this superior coach and boasting about his record in "The Rock". Now those folks are ready to string him up. I've always thought Houston Nutt was the Dale Brown of SEC football...great motivator but not real good with the Xs and Os. He should've got out while the gettin' was good. Now he may be forced out. Arkansas will likely win only two more games the rest of the year vs. ULM and possibly MSU.
Your rep is right!!! If you're small, like my company is, you can use a local broker... once you get over a million in $ sales you better get you an office within spittin' distance. The big boys, like Proctor & Gamble, can easily have over 100 people living in NW Arkansas just to handle the "Wal's" business. And it's not just the retail vendors... if you supply in-store fixtures, i.e. shelving, lighting, display racks, etc., The "Wal" expects you to maintain an inventory warehouse in the area so they can stop by and check your stock.. at their whim. Last year NW Arkansas was one of the top 5 growth areas in the country.
