Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium will be the site of a different kind of football this spring. Razorback Athletics announced last month it will host Mexican soccer rivals Club América and Club Tigres for an exhibition match in Fayetteville on March 28. The Golden Clash doubleheader will feature games between both Liga MX clubs' men's and women's teams.
Kyle Parkinson is senior associate athletics director for communications at the university and spoke with reporter Daniel Caruth about how these legendary clubs landed in the Ozarks.
Daniel Caruth: Kyle, just walk me through this exhibition match between América and Tigres coming up in March — how it came about and how you guys ended up hosting this.
Kyle Parkinson: Super exciting, right? To bring two world-renowned Mexican clubs up here to Northwest Arkansas to play in our football stadium — obviously something unique that's never been done before. Working with a third-party partner of ours that also works with Club América, we were able to get them up here. They use that same model around the world, where everybody goes from place to place for international friendlies during that international break window. Especially with this being a World Cup year, it makes a lot of sense to come to America.
Caruth: This is kind of the first of its kind at Razorback Stadium. What was it like when you first heard that pitch? What was your initial thought, and how was it received by the Razorbacks?
Parkinson: It's intriguing, right? Anytime we can have a major event in any of our venues, we see that as a win — obviously for the university and athletic department, but for Northwest Arkansas. This area has grown so much. Back in the old days, it was off the beaten path, literally. It's not anymore. So anytime we can add to that and make everybody aware of how special Northwest Arkansas is, it's a good thing. I think it's cool when you start thinking, all right, we're going to do this — and then figuring out how we're going to do it is obviously another set of problems to work through. But our team here has been great. We have a lot of problem solvers in every department. The rubber's going to meet road next month when we start spring practice — we'll practice in here a little bit with football and then transition the stadium over to a soccer venue that last week of March.
Caruth: When you're thinking through the logistics — the football team is using this for spring training, but you also need to turn this into a soccer pitch — how does that work?
Parkinson: I don't think it'll be easy. I say that — I'm not going to be the one flipping the field. We will widen the field a little bit. The way our field sits, you've got the football field and then a turf apron right around the edges before you get to the seats. So we will widen it with some grass. I'm not sure how easily that will be done or what that process will be like, but it will be a little bit wider down there on the field. As far as the rest of the way the stadium will operate, it will be pretty close, if not exactly like a game day for football. There will be a few differences for logistical reasons, but for the most part an event here will operate and function like a normal football game.
Caruth: Can you talk a little about the details for the match? It's also the men's and women's teams for both clubs. Why was that important?
Parkinson: I think it's about growing the game, where both clubs wanted to bring their women's teams, which are also super successful down there in Liga MX Femenil — which has been really cool to learn about if you're not a big-time soccer guy, which I'm not. I've been able to learn a lot about these clubs and their history, and that's been a cool part of this. And the fact that they're coming to our backyard makes it really cool. Bringing the women's teams up here is important for both clubs, and it extends the day and makes the event even bigger.
Caruth: What has been the response from people?
Parkinson: A lot of excitement. It's been a steady stream of emails and phone calls — how do I get tickets? How do I get involved? How do I get my daughter's soccer team to be out on the pitch when the teams come out? Soccer fans are so loyal. Especially in Europe, it's the closest thing to college football as far as fan bases and passion and regionality go. A lot of folks have reached out saying, oh, I grew up a Tigres fan or a Club América fan, and I can't believe they're coming to Arkansas, where I live. The outpouring of excitement for this has been really cool to see.
Caruth: Beyond having a big turnout on the day, what do you hope the longer-term impact is? Maybe more opportunities for projects like this in the future, or getting people who might not come for a Razorback game — maybe transplants who know these clubs — to come out and get hooked on the region?
Parkinson: I think you touched on two of the main things. One, we want to host as many events as we possibly can in our venues that are non-Razorback events — something we've been very aggressive with lately, obviously with this and then the announcement of the Post Malone and Jelly Roll concert coming up this summer. That's one box we're checking: we want people to know we're open for business. If you've got a big event coming through this part of the world, we may be interested in hosting it. And then the other piece, like I talked about earlier — anytime we can show off Northwest Arkansas and our campus and our stadium, particularly for people outside that five-hour radius of Fayetteville, it's good for everybody and helps the economy here on campus and in the surrounding area. That's really what we're here to do.
Caruth: What should people know if they want to come?
Parkinson: March 28. You can get your tickets at arkansasrazorbacks.com or call our Razorback Ticket Center at 479-575-5151. Sales have been really good. It'll be a doubleheader — women's team playing at 2 p.m. and the men's team at 5 p.m. It'll be a big day on campus.
Caruth: Is it one ticket for the whole event or per match?
Parkinson: One ticket gets you two soccer matches.
Caruth: Pretty good deal.
Parkinson: It's a great deal. Come check us out. Help us show off Northwest Arkansas and show the world — on a global stage — how big a deal it is here.
Kyle Parkinson is senior associate athletics director for communications at the University of Arkansas and spoke with Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth. The Golden Clash between Club América and Club Tigres takes place March 28, with the women's match at 2 p.m. and the men's match at 5 p.m. Tickets start at $35 and are on sale now through arkansasrazorbacks.com or by calling the Razorback Ticket Center at 479-575-5151.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
