Landers Center expansion moves to bid phase, project ‘on budget’ after design tweaks
HERNANDO, Miss. — The Landers Center expansion project is moving forward to its next major phase, with architect Doug Thornton confirming that the project is “within the targeted budget” and on schedule for its mid-2027 completion.
Following a groundbreaking ceremony in August, project leaders, including Thornton and construction manager Montgomery Martin, spent the last six weeks “vetting the project for cost” after initial estimates came in higher than budgeted.
Thornton confirmed to the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors that the team successfully made adjustments without sacrificing the project’s core components.
“We’ve cut no square footage out of it,” Thornton told supervisors. “It’s done. Same square footage, the same functions. We made some tweaks on materials and that sort of thing.”
The board approved the minor cosmetic changes, which include a redesign of some windows to better match the “seven to one ratio” of the building’s columns. One key design element, a perforated, backlit metal feature on the building’s east side, was kept in the project at the recommendation of the oversight committee, despite the architects suggesting it as a potential cost-saving removal.
The project is still carrying approximately $4.5 million in contingency funds, and other features have been designated as alternates that can be added back in if bids come in favorably.
With the budget and design finalized, the project is now authorized to go out for a bid in Nov. 6.
“Foundations are underway. Site work’s underway,” Thornton said in an update. He noted that the public can expect to see “vertical steel” rising in early 2026.
The timeline for the project is as follows:
- Bid Advertisement: Nov. 6, 2025
- Bids Received: Early to mid-December 2025
- Vertical Steel Construction: Early 2026
- Projected Completion: Mid-2027
The expansion will add 77,000 to 100,000 square feet of convention space and a seven-story, 240-room Embassy Suites hotel, which will be directly connected to the venue. The separate renovation of the Landers Center theater is planned to be bid out in the first or second quarter of 2026 to align with the arena’s operational schedule.
