The following code worked.
<?php $feat_art = new WP_Query(array('post_type' => 'sp_events','sp_events_cat'=> 'eventcat1','post_status' => 'publish','posts_per_page' => 1)); while($feat_art->have_posts()) : $feat_art->the_post(); ?>
The following code worked.
<?php $feat_art = new WP_Query(array('post_type' => 'sp_events','sp_events_cat'=> 'eventcat1','post_status' => 'publish','posts_per_page' => 1)); while($feat_art->have_posts()) : $feat_art->the_post(); ?>