Southaven is moving ahead with plans for eight Southaven indoor tennis courts after the Board of Aldermen approved Mayor Darren Musselwhite’s recommendation for a $26.7 million facility at its Tuesday, Nov. 3, meeting. The vote gives the city’s architects the go-ahead to draw up plans for the project.
The decision came after a lengthy discussion about whether the city should build bigger, with one alderman pushing for 12 courts and the mayor urging a more cautious approach because of construction costs and debt.
How Southaven Will Pay for the Indoor Tennis Courts
According to the DeSoto Times, architecture firm UrbanARCH presented four options to the board, ranging from about $21.4 million for six courts to $40.2 million for 12 courts. Aldermen backed the eight-court option at $26.7 million.
Musselwhite said the city has about $11 million in leftover tourism tax revenue that can go toward the project because it is a parks facility. The remaining roughly $16 million would be financed with a general obligation bond. The mayor said bond attorneys from Raymond James are expected to meet with the city sometime in December.
Key numbers from the meeting:
Approved option: eight indoor courts, about $26.7 million
Tourism tax funds available: about $11 million
Bond financing needed: about $16 million
Largest option considered: 12 courts, about $40.2 million
Remaining city debt capacity: about 40 percent, according to the mayor
The indoor facility is planned next to the existing Snowden Grove Tennis Complex. The city has previously said the building would include offices, a pro shop, concessions, locker rooms and elevated spectator seating, with construction expected to start once design and bidding are finished, likely in early 2027.
Debate Over Eight Courts or Twelve
Alderman Raymond Flores argued for 12 courts, saying he wants Southaven’s facility to compete with, and surpass, the Leftwich Tennis Complex in Memphis for tournament business. Flores asked whether the city could borrow against the large tax revenue expected from the SpaceXAI data centers and pay that debt down later.
Musselwhite said that approach would push the project back by a year and a half or more. He noted the data centers will not show up on the tax rolls until they are reported in April, so the new revenue would not reach local governments until 2028. “I don’t recommend we wait until 2028 to do it,” the mayor said, according to the DeSoto Times.
The mayor called tennis a “huge tourism draw” and said the city could add more courts later if money allows. He also warned that pulling more money from the general fund would mean parks projects competing with roads and other infrastructure needs.
Data Center Land Swap Money Set Aside
During the discussion, Musselwhite confirmed that Southaven has received the cash from its land swap with SpaceXAI. Under that deal, the company received 51 acres on Tulane Road at the former police and fire training site, now the planned “Gun Range” data center, in exchange for 69 acres on Swinnea Road. The mayor said that money is being held in a separate account from the city’s capital improvement funds.
Southaven is expected to receive more than $20 million a year in tax revenue from the data center projects once they are on the tax rolls, according to the DeSoto Times.
