Visit Hot Springs is set to bring a Sumo competition to the city next year, said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. The city got its first taste of the sport during the “Sumo! Sumo! Sumo!” exhibition in March, which coincided with the annual Cherry Blossom Festival and American Craft Sake Fest.
“We’re excited to have Sumo return to Hot Springs,” Arrison said. “Last time, it was just an exhibition to learn about the sport. This time, it will be an actual competition — Sumo versus Sumo for real.”
He added that the competition’s dates have not been set yet, but he expects it to be around the same time as the Cherry Blossom Festival.
This year, AY Media Group president and publisher Heather Baker, radio personality Roger Scott and Don Gooch, regional director of community banks at Arvest Bank, squared off against professional Sumo wrestlers during “Sumo! Sumo! Sumo!”
Arrison told Arkansas Money & Politics previously that the exhibition brought a unique experience to the city.
“It was just a different atmosphere than you usually see,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the crowd was seeing something for the very first time.”
AMP reported that about 4,000 people attended this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival, nearly 2,000 additional spectators watched the Sumo exhibition, and more than 400 attendees went to the sake festival. There were about 2,500 guests at the festival the previous year.
The Japanese-themed events celebrate Hot Springs’ relationship with its sister city, Hanamaki, Japan.
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