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Sixty years ago, Fort Smith opened a civic center downtown to bring people to the city. And, as city grew, that small facility also expanded, becoming the striking and versatile Fort Smith Convention Center.
The center is easy to spot, with two tall rotundas that stretch skyward. The Fort Smith Symphony makes its home in the center’s 1,331-seat theater, where plenty of keynote addresses, awards ceremonies and opening sessions are also held. Eight meeting rooms provide breakout space. The center’s 40,000 square foot column-free exhibit hall feels more expansive thanks to 34-foot ceilings.
The 255-room Wyndham Hotel Fort Smith City Center is attached to the center, with 15,580 square feet of meeting space, including a 10,656-square-foot ballroom. The 138-room Courtyard by Marriott is across a parking lot from the center.
Latest addition: U.S. Marshals Museum
Fort Smith was originally founded as a frontier fort, and its military ties have remained as its population nears 100,000. It’s the home of the the 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard and a military training center at Fort Chaffee, where Elvis got his first military haircut, recounted in a recently renovated Chaffee Barbershop & Military Museum.
There’s an abundance of local pride, and a great example is the work of local volunteers, who succeeded in bringing the U.S. Marshals Museum to the city. They pointed out that more U.S. Marshals and deputy marshals died riding out from Fort Smith during frontier days than in any place. After Fort Smith was chosen as the site, a local family donated riverfront land for the museum.
Since the museum opened in 2023, it has earned high marks for immersive exhibits that describe the wide-ranging role U.S. Marshals have played, from tracking down fugitives and protecting witnesses to managing disaster relief.
It’s also become a popular venue, with small spaces and larger ones like its atrium, where the river is on display through 40-foot-tall glass walls. The Arkansas Governor’s Conference and the Retired African American State Troopers have had events there.
And it’s not the only museum in town. Visitors can tour downtown museums devoted to local history, regional art and trolleys. Local restaurants — including Mexican, Italian, barbecue and seafood — are a couple of blocks from the convention complex. “They are all hometown and have been here a long time,” said Amy Jones, director of sales for Discover Fort Smith.
Old structures are also being repurposed. By early summer, a Bass Pro Shop will open in a rehabbed building. And an old flour mill across from the convention center is now the Bakery District, with meeting spaces, a coffee shop, a bar, a bookstore, games like cornhole and bingo, and an outdoor space where bands play. “It’s a real hot spot,” said Jones.
The same can be said for Fort Smith, as Discover Fort Smith gets the word out to meeting professionals about the financial advantages of meeting there.
“We have some excellent incentives in place for multiyear contracts,” said Jones. “And the bureau also provides a number of free services that save even more.”
