June 22, 2011 – Little Rock, Ark. - A limited number of tickets still remain for one of the top sports events of the summer, “Talking Football with Bobby Petrino,” which will be held Monday, July 18, at 7 p.m. in the St. Andrews Ballroom of Chenal Country Club in Little Rock.

A few slots also remain for the Legends Celebrity Golf Tournament, which will be held earlier that day.

Petrino and members of his football coaching staff at the University of Arkansas will be honored during the dinner for their past accomplishments and will discuss the upcoming Razorback season.

Famed sportscaster Pat Summerall, a 1971 Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee, will serve as the master of ceremonies for the event.

Tickets for the dinner honoring Petrino are $150 each, and tables of 10 are $1,500 each. Those wishing to reserve seats should call the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame at 663-4328 or Catherine Johnson at 821-1021.

Proceeds from the July 18 dinner will be used to benefit the Hall of Fame, including its efforts to build a conference center adjacent to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Museum at Verizon Arena.

On Dec. 5, the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $1 million for the construction of the conference center. Completion of the facility will, in essence, finish out the arena. The conference facility will be located in unused space under the stands that originally was intended to be used as a basketball practice court for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. When UALR built an on-campus basketball facility, the space was not needed as a practice court.

The cost of the public-private partnership is $2.24 million. The conference center will be operated by the Hall of Fame, which is working to raise the remainder of the funds needed for construction. The center will accommodate 500 people for a seated dinner and 750 people for a reception. It will be designed so space can be divided for smaller meetings.

The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959 and has inducted more than 330 men and women since that time. The Hall of Fame Museum opened in April 2007 following a $4 million capital campaign.

Ray Tucker, executive director of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, calls the July 18 dinner “one of the must-attend events of the year for Razorback football fans.”

Earlier in the day on July 18, Petrino and members of his staff will participate in the Legends Celebrity Golf Classic at Chenal Country Club. Lunch will be served at 11 a.m. with a 12:30 p.m. tee time.

There are a limited number of slots available for four-member teams. The cost is $2,000 per team. Those wanting to enter a team in the tournament should call the Hall of Fame as soon as possible.