Ozark United FC’s stance on Issue 3:
Ozark United FC supports Issue 3 because it would give Arkansas communities access to the same locally controlled economic development tools already available to communities in 48 other states.
Issue 3 offers a path for communities to choose to finance eligible projects by creating locally controlled districts that can use new incremental tax revenue generated by the new, tax-paying development—including our proposed stadium and surrounding entertainment district, as an example—to help fund the project and its supporting infrastructure.
A “yes” vote for Issue 3 does NOT create a new tax, deliver a tax increase, automatically establish a development district or approve a stadium financing plan.
Rather than relying on a community-wide sales tax increase, as Springdale did to help finance Arvest Ballpark for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, this approach allows the growth created by the project to help pay for the project—not the other way around.
We encourage our supporters to learn more about Issue 3 and what it means for the future of our state, our community, and professional soccer in Northwest Arkansas at yeson3.vote.
From the front office:
“Building a stadium is extraordinarily difficult. Even some of the wealthiest team owners in the country have struggled to make these projects possible. They become much more feasible when the right public-private partnership can be established. Issue 3 would allow the new, tax-generating businesses and property developments created around our project to help fund the stadium and the infrastructure that supports it.
Northwest Arkansas has already shown that it is ready to support professional soccer and we have clear vision for what this club can mean to the region. What we do not yet have is the same locally controlled development tool(s) available in 48 other states. For us, this is not an abstract policy question. It is the difference between our stadium and professional clubs moving forward or not.
And it is important to be clear: Issue 3 is not a new tax on our neighbors. It creates a way for the new development generated by the project to help pay for the project.”
— Warren Smith, Co-Founder, Ozark United FC