Clarksville, Ark.-University of the Ozarks is joining forces with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and the city of Clarksville to build an estimated $13 million Olympic-level shooting sports facility in the city.
The initial announcement was made in July by Game and Fish Director Austin Booth at the commission's regular monthly meeting in Little Rock. The University has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city and the AGFC to build and manage the complex.
The facility would be located on a 140-acre parcel owned by the University just south of Interstate 40. Approximately $5 million has already been raised or committed to the project and a fundraising campaign is under way by the University to raise the remaining amount.
The complex would be open to the public and include sporting clay courses and fields for skeet, trap and bunker as well as a pistol and rifle range. There will also be an archery field. The complex would include a clubhouse, spectator areas, picnic areas and pavilions.
The University has already contributed more than $2 million in land acquisition, site development and governmental authorizations to the project. AGFC plans to contribute up to $2 million in matching funds to the project and the city of Clarksville has also committed $1 million.
"The University is taking the initiative to raise an additional $8 to $10 million to build a premiere, world-class shooting facility in the Arkansas River Valley," said University President Richard Dunsworth. "The city has given us a green light; the county has given us the green light; we've done the public hearings; we've done the environmental tests; we're ready to build, except for the funding. That's the next step and we're excited and ready to begin the fundraising stage."
The complex would be the home course of the University's men's and women's sports shooting teams as well as local youth and high school shooting programs.
The University established the state's first board-sanctioned, competitive collegiate shooting program in 2010. Since then the teams have won seven individual and team national championships in sporting clay. Dunsworth said the University plans to create a collegiate archery program once the facility is completed.
"Clay target shooting and archery are among the fastest-growing sports in the country, from youth on up to the collegiate level, and we're excited about the opportunity to have one of the premiere shooting complexes in the region right here in Clarksville," Dunsworth said. "It's going to help us in recruiting and retaining students, it's going to help the Game and Fish with growing shooting sports in this area, and it's going to help the city of Clarksville with tax revenue, hosting events and bringing in visitors. It's a win-win scenario all the way around."
The facility would be managed jointly by the University and the Game and Fish Commission. Dunsworth said discussions on future phases of the complex have included plans for bike trails and RV parking with hookups.
Dunsworth said the fundraising initiative would include naming-right opportunities for donors and that construction would begin once the University raised an additional $8 million.
