coasters or thrill rides that would conflict with the rustic Li'l Abner theme. Capp, who had turned down other offers to use his characters in theme parks, accepted this one and became a partner, claiming he had once driven through the Ozarks and had pictured just such an area for the setting of his fictional "Dogpatch" town. On January 4, 1967, an article in the Northwest Arkansas Times stated that Capp's attorneys were finalizing the agreement. Capp approved of the plans for the park and granted REI the rights to use his characters. Some state officials and Arkansas residents objected to the creation of the theme park because they thought that it would encourage negative hillbilly stereotypes. Lou Oberste of the Publicity and Parks Commission expressed reservations, and Commission Director Bob Evans agreed that Arkansas had difficulty shedding a similar image created by comedic actor Bob Burns. In January 1967, Edwin T. Haefele of the Brookings Institution and Leon N. Moses, Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, were in Arkansas attending the Central Arkansas Urban Policy Conference. When reporters asked for their opinions of the Dogpatch project, they expressed doubts about the likelihood of its success, citing the failure of other theme parks that had popped up trying to replicate Disneyland's great success. They also felt that such theme parks tend to cause nearby property values to deflate and local businesses to relocate to more desirable areas. Despite these reservations, the Publicity and Parks Commission toured the property and decided to support the project, and the Harrison Chamber of Commerce approved the plans for the 825 acre (3.3 km2) park. In comparison, Disneyland originally called for only eight acres. Building and opening the park Al Capp and his wife attended the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, October 3, 1967. Phase I of the project, at a cost of $1.332 million, included construction of the initial buildings and rides. A second phase, which included the construction of a train from Dogpatch to Marble Falls, a tram from the parking lot to the park entrance, the "Skunk Hollow" section of the park, a motel, and a golf course, was planned to be completed over the next two years at a cost of $2 million. In 1968, the name of the community post office was officially changed from Marble Falls to Dogpatch. Under the direction of Jim Schermerhorn, an REI board member and experienced