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Mississippi Wolfpack asks Batesville to host 2026 home games at civic center
Summary
Representatives of the Mississippi Wolfpack told the Batesville Board of Aldermen they want the Batesville Civic Center as their 2026 home venue, requested reduced rental fees or waivers and proposed a revenue-sharing model; the board took the request under advisement and asked staff to review scheduling and logistics.
Yolanda Shagr, who identified herself as general manager of the Mississippi Wolfpack arena-football team, asked the Batesville Board of Aldermen to designate the Batesville Civic Center as the team’s official home venue for the 2026 season and to block dates and consider reduced rental fees or a revenue-sharing arrangement.
“We respectfully request the use of the Batesville Civic Center as our official home venue for the 2026 Arena Football season,” Shagr said, listing proposed regular-season home dates and asking the city to allow the team to collect ticket sales and to consider waiving or reducing standard rental fees.
In her presentation Shagr gave dates the team hopes to reserve — April 18 and 25; May 9, 16, 19 and 30; and June 6 — and said the Wolfpack would like the right to reserve additional dates for playoffs and championships. She described the organization as community-driven, said athletes and staff are unpaid and proposed a revenue-sharing model that would give a portion of ticket sales to the civic center while keeping ticket prices affordable for families.
Charles Stackhouse and Eddie Strong, introduced as members of the Wolfpack leadership and the team’s head coach/CEO, expanded on community benefits. Stackhouse described economic impacts — hotel nights, restaurant spending and vendor opportunities on game days — and Strong spoke about youth engagement and opportunities for local athletes.
Rodney Holly, the civic-center director, told the board he would provide the group with the center’s calendar and noted most dates were already booked. “We have everything already booked with another event except for the 30th of May and June 6th,” Holly said, and he said he would supply a calendar copy to the mayor and meet with the team.
Board members thanked the Wolfpack representatives and moved to take the request under advisement so staff could review scheduling, rental rules and logistics and report back to the board. No formal agreement or fee decision was made at the meeting.
The next step the board set was for civic-center staff and the mayor to meet with the Wolfpack leadership, review contract terms and calendar conflicts, and return to the board with recommended terms and any required ordinance or policy considerations.
