I thought you were referring to something similar to that unit. I've looked at it myself and it does have the cast iron sides. I don't know if it's exactly like the one you saw at Academy, but it looked pretty interesting to me. It's similar to the Brinkmann dual zone that Neil (I think) and a few others have here, only there's no partition like the Brinkmann model has. That unit could work for you since it's obviously set up for direct grilling and there are techniques you can employ to do low, slow and indirect. I don't know how much attention that cooker would require for a long cook, maybe one of the other guys can help out with some insight on that.
What would be your main focus, grilling or smoking? If you want pure convenience and smoking is your priority, the WSM can't be beaten in this price range but it's not a grill. Come to think of it, if you have room you could get a Weber Silver Kettle grill AND the WSM for about what that unit would cost you. Then you'd have the best of both worlds. You'd have to wait until Amazon puts the WSM on sale for 199 or try your luck with Grill Doctor who I think still advertises it for 179. You'd have to pay shipping from Grill Dr. though.
If convenience and ease of use is important to you, I don't think a stickburner would be the way to go (although there is nothing more fun than playing with fire), but who knows? A Chargriller with the side firebox (sfb) option could be fun. There was also another small offset cooker that somebody mentioned recently that sounded like a real deal. It was available as a whole starter kit (which even included charcoal), or just the cooker itself and the price was very reasonable. Can someone help me out on this one? I just can't seem to remember who/where/when that thing was posted.
Good luck with our decision Smokey.