The Jonesboro Sportsplex Steering Committee met Tuesday morning at First Security Bank to update the progress being made to the indoor sports complex coming to Race Street.
The Steering Committee Chairman Kevin Hodges noted the project was in the design development stage, the “next-to-last stage” for planning. The next step is getting the construction documents. The committee will present its final decisions to the Jonesboro Advertising & Promotion Commission.
“We'll also make sure the mayor's office that they're engaged and involved. They'll be well informed as to where we're at. And we'll see what comes out,” Hodges said.
The facility is in its third year of planning. On Jan. 1, 2022 the Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion Commission started collecting a 2 percent tax on the sale of prepared foods, to fund the complex.
The sporting complex is a planned 203,000-square-foot facility to include an aquatic center, an eight-court basketball gym that can also accommodate other sports, an event center with four additional basketball courts, two indoor soccer fields, and more. It will also include restrooms, a dining area, second-floor court viewing, and meeting spaces that are divisible to fit different-sized groups.
“I'm proud of this group. For what you've done. You've put together a very complex, highly sophisticated, high-quality facility,” Hodges said to the sportsplex committee.
The proposed cost for the facility does not currently include the proposed splash pad or its equipment, the south parking lot, or the indoor track. The pricing discussed is not the exact pricing and is subject to change.
“Now, what's unfortunate is we're kind of getting called in the headwinds of construction cost, certainly with inflation and with the supply chain. Since we've started this process I've seen 30 to 40 percent increases in construction cost that's documented anywhere, even in Jonesboro,” Hodges said.
The complex that includes the four-court event center with hardwood flooring for an estimated $77,160,351 million, or $76,941,951 million with taraflex flooring.
The committee is considering other flooring options, such as only the event courts having certain flooring, but the pricing has not been estimated on any of those options.
The additional cost of the south parking lot is currently estimated at $325,000.
Committee members discussed the possibility of different alternatives to the south parking lot such as gravel and plastic drive-on grass matts.
The Sportsplex is aimed to fit the needs of competitive sports in the region and surrounding states. City officials are expecting the facility to have a positive economic impact in Jonesboro through tourism.
