Should Southaven Borrow Millions for New Tennis Complex? Council split
Southaven board splits over size of indoor tennis complex bond
Southaven's Board of Mayor and Aldermen debated Tuesday how large an indoor tennis facility the city should build, with cost estimates ranging from $16 million to $42 million depending on the number of courts.
At the Nov. 4 regular meeting, the mayor recommended building eight indoor courts rather than 12, telling the board, "it my recommendation to the board is to do eight courts. It's just too much money. I know we would all love to have a facility that had 12 indoor courts, but the cost of construction is so high right now." An alderman argued the city should build out all 12 courts the site could accommodate. No final vote was taken, and a financing presentation from the city's bond adviser is expected in December.
The project would be financed through a general-obligation bond, drawing partly on park tourism revenue and partly on general-fund debt. Officials disagreed openly over how much debt the city should take on for the facility, with the mayor citing concerns about construction costs and competition with other city needs for borrowing capacity, while the alderman pushed for the larger design.