Alltel Arena is an 18,000-seat multi-purpose arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, directly across the Arkansas River from downtown Little Rock. The arena opened in October 1999.
On August 1, 1995, Pulaski County, Arkansas, voters approved a one-year, one-cent sales tax for the purpose of building a multi-purpose arena, expanding the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, and making renovations to the Main Street bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock. $20 million of the sales tax proceeds went toward the Convention Center expansion, with the remainder used to build the arena.
That money, combined with a $20 million contribution from the State of Arkansas, $17 million from private sources and $7 million from Little Rock-based Alltel Corporation paid for the construction of a 377,000-square-foot (35,000 mē) arena, which cost nearly $80 million to build. When the doors opened in 1999, the facility was paid for and there was no public indebtedness.