LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Election Day is just around the corner, and a sales tax increase is on the table in Little Rock.
If the 1% sales tax increase passes, that could mean the beginning of some big capital improvement projects, including updating War Memorial Park.
"We want to make this a central park so that users can come to the park and use it for the day," Director of Little Rock Parks and Recreation Leland Couch said.
War Memorial Park closed in June 2019 due to budget cuts. Since then, questions have arisen about what will happen to the park next.
For the first time, we are seeing what could be.
"One of the bigger things we've added is a pickleball tournament complex," Couch said.
There would be 20-25 new pickleball courts at the 100-acre park.
Plans also include a new pavilion with better lighting, a new restaurant and the redevelopment of Coleman Creek, which runs through the park.
"We'd be interested in leasing a small part of the land to somebody that may have interest in running a restaurant or some kind of concessionaire," Couch said.
If the sales tax passes, $14 million would go towards starting the park's renovation, but not before the public could weigh in on the additions.
If the tax does not pass, these projects could be put on hold until the city obtains grants or bonds to fund them.
"I'm not sitting on a bucket of money designed not to do anything," Couch said. "We just truly don't have the capital dollars that we need to do in the park."