Landers Center today announced the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors approved $35 million bonding in a unanimous vote (5-to-0) for a massive expansion that will include a convention center, full-service hotel and free-standing restaurant on its grounds.

“The board of supervisors is very excited to partner with the DeSoto County Convention & Visitors Bureau and City of Southaven to bring a much-needed addition to Landers Center,” said Mark Gardner, president of the DeSoto County board of supervisors. “This expansion will allow us to host large-scale conventions and trade shows, among other things, and has been a dream of ours since the start of the Landers Center project in the 1990s.”

Located in Southaven, Mississippi, Landers Center is a 10,000-seat multipurpose arena and entertainment provider that hosts numerous national touring acts, family shows and sporting events.

Built in 2000, Landers Center is home to the Memphis Hustle, the Memphis Grizzlies’ G-League team of the NBA Developmental League, and the Memphis Americans’ men’s and women’s teams of the National Indoor Soccer League.

The venue hosts a wide-variety of events annually and offers several venue options, including the multipurpose arena; 17,000-square-foot convention center; 400-seat theater and a large parking lot that boasts more than 3,500 parking spaces with the ability to accommodate large outdoor events, including the Mid-South Fair.

“This is a great decision and great investment that will help take Southaven and Desoto County to a new economic plateau,” said Darren Musselwhite, Mayor of Southaven. “Landers Center is a great venue, but still has tremendous potential to bring more tourism and spur economic energy in our special Metropolitan District, which was created precisely for this type of development.

“This will, without a doubt, become a regional destination point with the attraction of combining business and entertainment in a walkable campus-type setting. This financial commitment and investment will be paid back exponentially to our citizens with future economic returns.”

The expansion will connect to the existing Landers Center and will allow DeSoto County to host more events – especially larger events in need of broader and more specific accommodations. The hotel addition will be the first full-service hotel in the area, complete with flexible options for meeting spaces, at least 200 spacious guest rooms, a resort-style pool and a free-standing restaurant.

“Since opening in 2000, Landers Center has had to turn down hundreds of event requests because we simply can’t accommodate and adequately serve the expected volumes the acts and events bring in from a space standpoint,” said Todd Mastry, Landers Center’s executive director. “This expansion, which includes more square footage and parking, plus a full-service hotel, allows us to accept more acts and events, especially those with high attendance rates.

“This, in turn, will benefit tourism greatly, and bring even more revenue, events for our residents and approximately 300 more jobs to those in our community.”

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2022 and take an estimated 24 months to complete. AERC, PLLC based in Hernando, Mississippi, is the architecture firm spearheading design. Once an official agreement is signed with the hotel and restaurant partners, an announcement will be made. For more information, visit www.landerscenterexpansion.com.